


All Part of the Plan

by Pourmyselfoverhim



Series: You Cannot Have One Without the Other [1]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bathtubs, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Car Chase, Deception, Dreams and Nightmares, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Friendship/Love, Hallucinations, M/M, Masturbation, Mentor/Protégé, Nygmobblepot, Piano, Revenge, Riddles, Scheming, Season 3, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Rivalry, Teasing, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-10 07:32:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11122659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pourmyselfoverhim/pseuds/Pourmyselfoverhim
Summary: The Riddler devises a new plan to deal with his Penguin problem. Destroy Oswald Cobblepot by destroying the one thing he values most, his love for Edward Nygma. The plan seems simple enough however Edward doesn't anticipate the constant interruptions from his mirror self, this time manifesting as his milder GCPD self. Oswald suspects that Edward must be up to something given his sudden change of heart regarding their relationship so keeps him around where he can keep a close eye him while doing everything in his power to resist Edward's advances.Takes place after 3x19 from both Edward and Oswald's perspectives and covers the remainder of Season 3 in both a complimenting and diverging manner.





	1. If you drop me I'm sure to crack but give me a smile and I'll always smile back

Edward awoke as the sun leaked through the gaps in the curtains and fell across his face. Still half asleep it took him a moment to realize he wasn't in his own bed but a large ornate four poster bed. Memories of the previous night flooded back to him and he lifted his head sleepily from the pillow and observed the smaller man still sleeping soundly next to him, Oswald Cobblepot, The Penguin. Edward noticed how vulnerable the smaller man looked while sleeping, completely unfazed by the dangerous enemy who lay next to him. Edward couldn't help but congratulate himself on his own handiwork, once rivals it had not taken much effort to regain Oswald's trust and work his way back into the intimate space. He pitied the small man as he watched him sleep soundly. How desperate had Oswald been to win his heart that he had believed The Riddler's confession of regret so quickly? This was the first part of The Riddler's plan for revenge after Oswald had once selfishly taken everything from him. Isabella, the woman Edward Nygma had loved, killed out of jealousy by Oswald in an attempt to keep him all for himself. His eyes drifted to Oswald's neck, pale and exposed against the silk pillowcase. Edward observed how easily it could be for him to simply clasp his hands around Oswald's neck and squeeze the life out of him. The small man would be powerless to retaliate, strangled in his own bed a place he had believed to be safe. But that would be too easy. The Riddler had much bigger plans for this small bird, he would take away the love of his life just as his had been taken from him. The first part of the plan had gone perfectly.

After escaping The Court Edward had considered returning to the Sirens to rally Barbara, Butch and Tabitha to his side to make a move on Oswald but after careful consideration he decided they would be dead weight and that a solo venture would yield much more satisfying results. After the stunt Tabatha had pulled in his last plan he knew he would be unable to trust them. He had sneaked into Oswald's mansion late last night using a spare key he had hidden before his last departure. Moving silently through the house he found his old friend sitting by the fireplace staring into the dying flames, drink in had. There was no sign of Oswald's new associates so they were all clearly asleep already or elsewhere. Brimming with nervous excitement over the anticipation of such clever deception that the Penguin would never see coming he stopped in the doorway. Calming himself and adopting a believing demeanor he approached his old friend.

"You should change your locks Oswald. This is Gotham after all, there are killers on the loose." The small man jumped up at the sound of Edward's voice and instinctively reached for the wine bottle on the side table no doubt about to smash it to create a makeshift weapon. "Relax, Oswald, please" Edward said raising his hands up to indicate that he was weaponless "If I wanted to kill you you'd be dead already" he exclaimed as casually as possible. "I came to talk" he continued shifting his tone to a more serious one.

"We have nothing to talk about _Ed!_ " Oswald retaliated emphasizing his misuse of Edward's name. Edward had anticipated this so managed to keep his irritation visually in check. "Get out of my father's house!" Oswald continued fiercely "How dare you come back here!"

"I know, I'm sorry I just..." It was time for The Riddler to put the plan into motion. "I just had to see you" Edward blurted out in his best rendition of his former jittery self. He knew this was the key element to winning Oswald over.

"And what makes you think I have any intention of listening to anything you have to say?" Oswald snapped lowering the wine bottle and placing it back on the side table. "Barbara throw you out of her little club so you come running back to m-"

"I made a mistake" Ed cut Oswald off. He took off his bowler hat placing it on the coffee table and sinking onto the couch they had once sat on together so often. "I tried to act like I was in control, like I was better off without you, better off as... The Riddler. But the truth is... I'm not". He placed his fingers under the lense of his glasses wiping away tears he had forced out along with this fake confession. If he was going to deceive Oswald he would have to commit one hundred percent to the act. He waited for Oswald to respond but heard nothing, he was unable to spare a glance to gauge Oswald's reaction because he had committed to placing his head in his hands staring intently at the floor. Worried that perhaps the Penguin was smarter than he had anticipated it was time to test the waters with a new tactic. "I... I apologise, I shouldn't have come here". He stood up quickly grabbing his hat and turning his back to the still silent Penguin. "I'll leave." He began to stride across the room but then he heard it and he knew the ruse had worked.

"Wait" Oswald replied in a small voice.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks and a small devilish grin appeared on his face unseen to Oswald. He had him.

Now as he stared down at Oswald in bed he realized that as he went over the memories of last night he had absentmindedly begun to run his fingers through Oswald's hair. It was soft and tickled his finger tips. He pulled his hand away quickly and wondered what had possessed him to touch the small man with such affection. He had slept surprisingly well next to Oswald, their feet and arms occasionally brushing against one another. Edward believed small intimate touches were important to gaining Oswald’s trust but they were useless if Oswald was unaware of them. He had to consider his next move before the small man woke up. He rolled over to find his glasses on the nightstand. Taking care not to wake Oswald he got out of bed and made his way across the room to Oswald's personal bathroom. He had been in the former Mayor's room several times during the friendship. Once, he remembered, on account of Oswald's unwillingness to rise early one morning for an important meeting and after Olga's repeated attempts to wake him Edward had been forced to step in and physically drag a grumpy Oswald out from under the sheets. He found himself smiling at the memory but quickly pushed it out of his mind and focused his attention on the bathroom which he had never been in before. It was large and was lavishly fitted as befitting Oswald Cobblepot 'King of Gotham'. Edward moved to the sink washed his hands and removed his glasses and began to splash water on his face.

"You have to admit, he looked so peaceful and sweet laying there like that" a familiar voice stated in The Riddler's ear making him jump and throw his glasses on looking around for the source of the voice. Looking in the mirror he saw him, Edward Nygma, the reflection of his former self. His hair wasn't as finely kept as it was now and he was wearing a simple sweater that had once been gifted to him by Oswald during his stay in Arkham.

"What are _you_ doing here?" The Riddler hissed in a low dominant voice. It was true that seeing a double of himself was not out of the ordinary but it was Edward Nygma who needed the Riddler to interject and guide him not the other way around.

"His hair felt nice too" Nygma said with a longing distracted look on his face.

"Shut up" Riddler responded turning from the mirror so he did not have to look at his other half. "You're dead, you have no business being here."

"Dead like Oswald Cobblepot?" Nygma responded letting out a small laugh. "We really messed that one up. Who's the klutz now?" The fact that Nygma of all people was taunting him infuriated him more. He turned back to the mirror intent on putting Nygma back in his place to prove who was in charge.

"I'm glad he's not dead." Riddler growled in a low voice. "Shooting him wasn't enough. Now that he's back I have a greater opportunity to make his death... sweeter". On that last word he turned to meet Nygma's gaze, a wide grin on his face.

"Oh yeah, this grand plan" Nygma said pushing his glasses up his nose and folding his arms. "To convince him that we're in love wit-"

"There is no _WE_ , you are gone. I'm just The Riddler now!" he insisted in his low voice gripping the edges of the sink in both hands. He had to admit he not anticipated the appearance of Nygma in all this but he would easily deal with him. He wouldn't let this weaker former self get to him.

"It's rude to interrupt" Nygma responded. "Obviously you see the flaw in the plan. I mean, I see it which means, obviously, you see it too." He gestured as if he was explaining something simple as he had so often had to do when working at the GCPD. This infuriated The Riddler more, how dare Nygma talk down to him. "You see," continued Nygma clearly aware of the Riddler's irritation. "I think that in your attempts to convince him, we may just end up convincing ourselves."

"ENOUGH" Riddler yelled lashing out at the mirror and punching at his reflection. The mirror shattered under the force of the blow and glass cascaded all around him silencing Nygma. It had been a mistake, one that could have been avoided and now he had to think quick as he could hear movement in the next room. Oswald came hurrying into the bathroom clearly woken by the Edward's yelling and the smashing mirror.

"Edward! What the hell are you doing in here!?" Oswald yelled looking in horror at the state of the bathroom. He looked as if he was ready to explode. This was it thought Edward, he's going to throw me out. Why couldn't I keep myself more restrained, I shouldn't let myself be affected by Nygma like that but he had caught him off guard. His hand was stinging and blood was dripping down onto the floor. Then suddenly through the pain an idea jumped to the front of his mind and he knew how to use this situation to his advantage.

"You see it in water but it can never be wet" he said raising his bloody hand, staring at it with a vacant expression as blood continued to stream out of it.

"Reflection" whispered Oswald in response. Edward gave credit to Oswald, he was one of the only people willing and capable of solving his riddles.

"It was him, m..my other self." Edward continued. "The one I told you about in Arkham. He was trying to push me out. He wasn't happy I came to see you".

He fell to the floor wincing under the pain of glass that sliced into the bare skin on his legs, it was painful but worth it for the sympathy points it would gain him.

"Ed no, the glass!" Oswald exclaimed moving to his friend and helping him up careful not to step in the glass himself. "Let's get that hand bandaged before you lose any more blood". Oswald moved them both back into the bedroom and sat Edward down on one of the chairs in front of the dressing table picking up a spare shirt from the floor to wrap Ed's hand in while he fetched some bandages. Edward allowed himself to be fussed over by Oswald and couldn't help but feel grateful for the level of care and concern his friend was showing for him. It reminded him of how Oswald had treated him when he been released from Arkham. Edward caught a glance in the mirror of Nygma who raised one eyebrow. Edward closed his eyes and pushed the feelings away knowing that he couldn't give into them, he had to stick to the plan. He was suddenly aware that Oswald had been talking the entire time and so caught up in his own thoughts, had not heard a word of what he was saying. Oswald looked at him inquisitively clearly half expecting an answer to whatever he had just said.

"Oh... umm" Edward muttered trying to quickly think of an adequate response to whatever it was Oswald had just said. "I'm sorry Oswald, I don't know. I'm just such a mess right now..." He hoped this was acceptably generic enough to satisfy Oswald. He decided quickly that he needed to distract Oswald in case it was not acceptable, moving forward in his chair he threw his arms around the smaller man and held him. It was reminiscent of their many previous embraces. Oswald's soft skin felt good against his own, after all he was feeling pretty lousy after the mental argument with himself and the pain in his hand and legs. His friend's embrace was somewhat calming and suddenly he felt Oswald's lips press a small faint kiss against his cheek. Guilt surged through Edward's body as Oswald broke from their embrace and stared into his eyes. No, he shouldn't feel guilty. This man had ruined his life he was going to make him pay for what he had done. Was going to make him love him so badly that when Edward inevitably ripped himself away from Oswald it would make him realize exactly just how much it hurts to have your love selfishly ripped away from you. He would take it slow. Let the feelings between them build to what Oswald would perceive as a genuine deep bond and then when Oswald had accepted him completely into his life and heart he would strike. Reveal it all to be a ruse, mock him for believing that The Riddler would ever fall for someone like Oswald Cobblepot. Reveal how every affectionate glance was a ruse, every brush of skin a trap and every 'I love you' a hidden dagger waiting to stab Oswald in the back. The Riddler grinned to himself internally, revenge was going to be slow and painful.

 

*****

 

Oswald Cobblepot sat in front of the dying fire nearly at the end of his bottle of wine. He had sent the others away to Ivy's hideout needing time to himself to plan his next move in peace. After his escape from The Court alongside Edward Nygma he knew the next few days would be vital as 'The Riddler' would inevitably come looking for him now that their truce had ended. As if on cue he heard the voice of his former companion cut through the silence of the mansion. Instinctively Oswald grabbed the wine bottle with the intention to defend himself should Edward get within striking distance. However Edward assured him however that he was just there to talk and intended him no harm. It was suspicious. Only 24 hours ago Edward had mocked him and made clear his intentions to follow through on the vow to kill Oswald. And now he stood here in front of him, in his father's house the very man whose remains Edward had desecrated in order to torment him. He felt his anger building inside him.

"We have nothing to talk about Ed!" Get out of my father's house! How dare you come back here!" Oswald yelled. He knew that Ed would not listen and the words were hollow but he also knew that Edward would soon get to the point of his visit and once he had gloated about some scheme he was planning he would be on his way or they would come to blows. There he stood, in his green suit, bowler hat on his head. Oswald felt a small amount of pride deep down, it was true that Ed looked somewhat ridiculous in his outfit but he knew that Ed was probably loving it and seeing him take joy in things was something Oswald particularly enjoyed himself. However the next thing that happened took Oswald completely by surprise. He noticed that Edward did not have his arrogant gleam he had taken up lately, he looked... like his old self. The man who had looked after him in his time of need and whom Oswald had so often visited in Arkham. This was not the man he had escaped The Court with him the previous night. Oswald's suspicion grew but he knew Edward and if this was a ruse he would soon out himself. Edward couldn't resist showing off how clever he was. Oswald had to bait it out of him.

"And what makes you think I have any intention of listening to anything _you_ have to say?" Oswald snapped. He lowered the wine bottle fairly certain Edward was not going to attack him. "Barbara throw you out of her little club so you come running back to m-" but before he could finish Edward cut him off.

"I made a mistake". Edward removed his hat and slumped onto the couch confessing that he needed to see him. He sounded almost... pathetic? This had to be fake, an act to draw him in? But to what end, he knew Edward didn't harbor any feelings for him perhaps this was a genuine attempt to reach out to his old friend? Oswald thought that Edward would rather die than admit that he had been wrong about how he felt. Too busy trying to piece together what was going on he had neglected to respond to Edward. The tall man got to his feet grabbing his hat and turning to leave.

"Wait" Oswald responded and regretted it almost immediately. He twitched in annoyance at himself but luckily Edward had his back to him and didn't see. He should have just let him walk out. If it was a trick he had fallen for it but now that they were here he had best make the most out of it. If Edward did have a plan then he would soon discover it and if his sorrow was genuine then perhaps Oswald could use it to his advantage or maybe even help the man who was trying to reach out to him. He had murdered the man's 'love' after all and sent him down this path, perhaps he owed him that much. "Sit" he gestured for Edward to take his place back on the couch and moved to the liquor cabinet to pour them both a drink. Edward obeyed and sat removing his jacket and placing it over the back of the couch. Stealing a sideways glance at Edward he still had to admit how good he looked in a suit, even one so violently green. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. No, you can't think like that he scolded internally. Taking a seat next to Edward he handed him a drink and leaned back and took a sip of whisky. "Okay, you said you want to talk. I'm listening. Although I will remind you that we had adequate time to talk while locked in those cages so I don't know why we are doing this now and not then."

"I was still in shock seeing you alive" Edward admitted "But I couldn't sleep last night. I kept going over all the things I should have said instead of being angry."

"You can start with 'I'm sorry I _shot_ you Oswald'" Penguin said sarcastically but almost straight away Ed responded.

"I am sorry I shot you..." The two sat there in silence for a short time. Oswald didn't know what to think. What had happened to Ed, why was he suddenly full of regret instead of strutting around full of confidence. "It tormented me for weeks." Edward continued. "I took pills... to induce hallucinations. It made me able to see you again." Oswald could not believe what he had just heard.

"And what did I say?" He asked unable to think of a suitable response to this piece of information.

"You mocked me mostly" Ed laughed but then furrowed his brow "Seems like a trend for all the hallucinations I see". Oswald laughed too but then started to doubt his initial assessment of the situation. Edward had just admitted he took pills in order to see him again. He had been so desperate to see him that he would go that far. Perhaps he was all wrong about this, perhaps Ed did care for him after all. Oswald made his decision, he was going to play this out. See how much he could get out of Ed about his feelings and then one of two things would happen. Perhaps Edward did have some hidden scheme behind all this, in which case Oswald decided it was better to keep his enemy close and feeling as if he was in control or his feelings would turn out to be genuine. A little part inside of Oswald hoped that it would be the latter and the two of them might have a second chance together but he didn't let this feeling get the better of him. He knew that Edward has dangerous and if he sensed Oswald was on to him or he was losing control of the situation he would panic and become unpredictable. Better to let him think he was in the driver's seat. They continued to drink and reminisce about their time as mayor and chief of staff and the night they had eaten takeaway and murdered their first person together in Edward's apartment. It was like old times. Then as if the alcohol and nostalgia all became too much Edward broke down crying and furiously started apologizing for all his actions including tonight's visit.

"Okay, _clearly_ that's enough for tonight" Oswald stated standing up and pulling Ed with him. "You are going to bed." Oswald led Edward up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

"Why are we in here?" Edward asked as Oswald sat him onto the bed and assisted him with taking his shoes off. "Surely I should stay in my old room?" Edward began but Oswald silenced him.

"Nonsense, you've had a rough night and you deserve to be comfy" Oswald insisted. "You stay here and I'll take a smaller room." He turned to leave the room as Ed began to strip out of his clothes into just his underwear. Oswald turned back to sneak a glance as he had never managed to see Edward in such a state when they had previously lived together. It was a fine figure under that suit just as he had expected. His Flawless pale skin illuminated by the moonlight spilling in through the window. He knew that by giving Edward the master bed it would encourage him to think that he was caring for him. As he limped towards the door and reached for the handle to leave Edward spoke.

"Don't go."

Oswald stomach sank, he closed his eyes trying to focus on anything but the thought of Edward half naked in his bed. He had dreaded this. He knew he should go, remove himself from Edward's presence so he had time to think clearly and figure out what was going on but the temptation to stay was so great he instantly knew he would succumb. Turning around he saw Edward had wrapped himself up under the blanket. Oswald ached with desire to run across the room and climb under the covers with him. But he shouldn't, it would complicate things and he wouldn't be able to think straight knowing Edward was that close to him in such an intimate setting. Then like a siren song came Ed's voice.

"I just want you near me. Your presence is... comforting."

 

Oswald awoke the next morning as Edward was shifting around next to him in the large bed. At least nothing had happened between them last night, Edward had spared him _that_ temptation at least. He laid still pretending to be asleep to see what his friends next move would be. He was fairly confident Edward would not do him in in his own bed. Then he felt it, Edward slowly started to delicately run his fingertips through Oswald's hair. Oswald's stomach leaped and he felt light as a feather. Confusion filled him, did Edward know he was awake? If Ed was attempting to trick him then he would have to know that he was awake for this to work otherwise the gesture would go unnoticed. Or perhaps, this was genuine after all, perhaps there were feelings there that Edward was doing his best to express. Edward's hand pulled away suddenly and Oswald felt him climb out of bed slowly and move across to the bathroom. The fact he had gotten up slowly told Oswald that he was trying not to wake him, it confirmed that Edward thought he was still sleeping the whole time. Edward had nothing to gain from those delicate touches if Oswald was unaware of their existence, he let in a small amount of hope and rolled onto his back straightening out his leg. He was used to having the whole bed to himself so his leg was more stiff than usual. He laid there trying to decide what to do when Edward returned from the bathroom. He supposed Edward would make the next move, either collecting his clothes from the floor and excusing himself or returning to the bed. Oswald however didn't have time to consider what he would do if his friend climbed back under the covers with him as from the bathroom he heard Edward scream.

"ENOUGH"

He sounded exactly like he had when Oswald had taunted him about his name while they imprisoned together. Then came the sound of smashing glass and a cry of pain from Edward. Oswald dived out of the bed and made his way across the bathroom as quick as his leg would allow. He was greeted by the sight of Edward standing among shattered mirror pieces blood dripping off his knuckles onto the floor, he was staring into where the mirror had once been.

"Edward! What the hell are you doing in here!?" Oswald yelled angrily. Oswald had loved that mirror and he didn't understand what had driven Ed to smash it so. Edward looked at his bloodied hand.

"You see it in water but it can never be wet" Edward stated raising his bloodied hand to stare at it. A riddle, even at a time like this he had a riddle ready. Using the context of the moment Oswald knew the answer instantly.

"Reflection" he whispered in response.

"It was him, m..my other self. The one I told you about in Arkham. He was trying to push me out. He wasn't happy I came to see you". Oswald knew of this other self Edward spoke of, his _Riddler_ self. The part of him that was always trying to get out to allow him to be who he really wanted to be. Supposedly he had made the full transition when he threw Oswald off that dock but Oswald's presence here and Edward's current state proved that the Riddler's plan had failed on that front. Suddenly Edward sank to floor almost about to cry, the smashed pieces of mirror digging into his exposed legs.

"Ed no!, the glass!" Oswald exclaimed moving forward to help his friend up taking care to not step on any himself. He pulled Edward to his feet and took him through to the bedroom and sat him down at the dressing table. He went off to fetch a first aid kit, considering the previous moment. Edward's other self was an interesting turn of events, was this it? Was this The Riddler's plan after all, lure Oswald in with the side he knew he would be powerless to resist. Lure him out of his house somewhere and trap him in order to torture him? Oswald had to consider his actions very carefully. Edward had exhibited signs of genuine affection and had gone far enough to lose control and hurt himself. Were Edward Nygma and The Riddler truly separate entities that were capable of tormenting his friend so much or was it all an elaborate act? Returning with bandages he decided to continue as intended last night. Place himself close to Edward so that he would discover the truth. One thing he could be sure of, especially after what had just happened, was that The Riddler would reveal himself before The Penguin did. Bandaging his companion's hands he decided to start playing along with whatever game Ed had set up. "You really are quite the handful aren't you Edward. If you're not threatening my life you're a bloody mess in my bedroom" Oswald smirked and tightened the bandage around Ed's hand. "You're staying here with me until we figure this business out. Can't have you running around Gotham in this state. I am your mentor after all, you actions reflect on me and I will not have you tarnishing my reputation." Edward sat there silently staring into to space unresponsive. Oswald let out a sigh "Well I'll take that as yes. You're staying here." Edward looked up at him he muttered a quiet response.

"I'm sorry Oswald, I don't know. I'm just such a mess right now..." Then, without warning, Edward threw his arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Oswald felt like he could melt. Edward's hugs were always satisfying as he was so easily able to wrap Oswald up in his long arms. Edward's scent washing over him he was unable to help himself, he decided to escalate this intimacy slightly. He pressed his mouth to Edward's cheek feeling his soft skin beneath his lips, it was intoxicating, to finally do something he had always dreamt of and Edward was not pulling away. He scolded himself internally and started trying to convince himself that this was just an act to lure The Riddler's plan out and not a genuine act of affection he desperately desired. He had to be strong, he had to play The Riddler's game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was only going to be from Edward's perspective however I always intended Oswald to be onto him so felt I needed to include Oswald's half so he could be given the credit he is due. Not sure what the structure will be from here, I'll see where they take me next time.


	2. I have 24 keys but cannot open any locks. Sometimes loud, sometimes soft.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter sees Edward give himself into a new bad habit and indulge himself in an old hobby. Meanwhile Oswald is teaching Ivy the skills required to navigate the Underworld while she assists him in rebuilding his empire. Edward and Oswald continue their schemes of pretending to love one another.  
> Takes place during 3x20 but is diverging somewhat.

Oswald had sent Edward back to bed after the mirror shattering incident, insistent he get some more rest before getting dressed and coming downstairs. 

"I'll have to get Olga back" Oswald began as he tucked Edward back under the sheets "There's no food left in the house, the bathroom is covered in glass. I suppose she stopped coming to work after my absence from the house for several days."  
Edward felt a lump form in his throat.

"Actually..." mumbled Edward. "I fired her..." At the time he had not given the action a second thought but now sitting here staring into Oswald’s face he regretted it. After leaving the docks he had decided to return to Oswald's mansion to live until he sorted out a new place befitting ‘The Riddler’. Under any other circumstances of Oswald's death he was sure the house would have passed to him, he was Oswald’s closest friend after all, so he decided to claim it the same way Oswald had claimed Fish's club. Olga had been there when he returned and he had quickly informed her Oswald would not be returning and he had no intention of paying for her services so it would be best for her to seek new employment. He sat in silence for a few seconds before Oswald forced a smile and placed a hand on Edward's arm over the covers.

"Well no harm done" he said giving Edward's arm a squeeze. "No one can pay her more than me so I'll have her back in no time I'm sure." Oswald stated with a small amount of annoyance coming through in his voice. He stood up and made his way out of the room, closing the door a little harder than required.  
Why was he so annoyed, wondered Edward as he stretched himself out in the bed. It wasn't like help was hard to find and Oswald had stated she would soon come back the second payment was reinstated. He had never understood the need for the hired help anyway, perhaps the cleaning was an acceptable service given the size of the house but the cooking was pointless. Edward had always found himself perfectly capable of looking after himself and did not need someone to wait on him as Oswald did. Even from a young age he had been self sufficient. He took hold of this observation of Oswald and let it swell inside him. He needed feelings like this to remind himself why he hated this man. The small spoilt child who sits in his castle while he, The Riddler, worked and survived by his own means. 

"Oh _please_ ", came Nygma's voice from the end of the bed. He was sitting with his back to him looking out over the rest of the bedroom. "Who's the one being fussed over and tucked into bed after the incident in the bathroom?"

"This is different" grumbled Edward rolling over and sticking a pillow over his head so he didn't having to listen to Nygma anymore. His appearances were starting to get on his nerves and he had yet to think of a way to deal with them.

"Right" stated Nygma, "because you're only _pretending_ to enjoy it. _Completely_ different, I understand." Edward decided it was simply best to just ignore Nygma rather than attempt to argue, he could not indulge him lest they have another incident like this morning. There was silence for a few moments and Edward wondered if his tactic of simply ignoring him had worked. "I will disappear every time you say my name. What am I?" Nygma asked suddenly. Edward threw his pillow at where Nygma had been sitting but it simply flew through the air and landed on the floor. "Whoops, Missed me" Nygma responded from his new position on Oswald's side of the bed, an amused grin on his face. "You'll have to do better than that." Edward groaned and rolled away. "I've got another one for you" Nygma leaned in to whisper into Edward's ear. "I take you by night, by day take you back, none suffer to have me, but do from my lack, what am I?" Edward did not get a chance to respond before the answer took him.  
He awoke to someone gently shaking his arm. Rolling over and pulling himself up onto his elbows he saw through skewed vision that it was Oswald. Nygma had distracted him to the point he had forgotten to remove his glasses before falling asleep.

"I have to go out" Oswald said. He gently reached over and fixed Edward's glasses so they were now sitting straight on his face. His hand lingered slowly running his fingers along Edward's cheek. He withdrew his hand quickly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better" admitted Edward sitting up in the bed next to Oswald. The Penguin was now dressed in one of his fine suits complete with matching cuff links and tie pin. Edward was suddenly aware of how close the two of them were sitting and an odd feeling started to grow inside him.

"Elevated heart rate, blood flowing to the face" Nygma said, heard but unseen. "Both signs of physical attracti-".

"Oswald!" Edward blurted out in order to override Nygma's voice in his ear not sure of what he was going to say. "I'll..." He stumbled trying to decide on the right words. "Miss you... while you're out". He tried this to see how it felt and he believed it satisfied his need. Oswald would find it believable given his confession last night of missing him after their encounter at the docks.

"We'll then I'll have to keep the lock tightly fastened on the medicine cabinet won't I?" Oswald joked, getting up from the bed. "I've drawn you a bath, perhaps a nice long soak will do you some good. I shouldn't be too long out on business" He started to move towards the door.  
Ed suddenly realized that Oswald was leaving the room. Hadn't he wanted to take advantage of their closeness in the bed to attempt another show of affection? The glasses had been a convenient situation he had not planned but approved of, now Oswald was just leaving? He bit his lip trying to decide what was the right move here, stop Oswald before he left or wait for him to return before trying something else. In a snap decision Edward leapt up from the bed and bounded across the room to Oswald just as he was opening the door. He lent in and kissed Oswald's cheek and let his nose gently nuzzle Oswald's cheek.

"I'll behave myself while you're out" He said cheekily into Oswald's ear before turning and walking to the bathroom, closing the door behind him without even looking at Oswald for his reaction. Stripping off, pleased with himself, Edward climbed into the warm bath that had been prepared for him. He noticed that all of the glass from earlier had been swept up.

"Do I even have to say anything?" asked Nygma appearing beside the bath. "You're making it _too_ easy."

"I had to" Edward insisted. He's initiated the last two intimate touches . It was my turn to do so otherwise I risk him thinking I'm not interested, then it becomes awkward and that’s counter productive to the plan.”

"Everything we do is awkward" Nygma mumbled. 

"Like you watching me in the bath?" Edward responded through gritted teeth starting to grow irritated.

"Hmm, fair point" Nygma said with a slight frown before turning it into a full grin. "See you later. Don't forget to scrub behind those ears." And with that he vanished leaving Edward to bath in peace. He ran his hands along the lip of the bath thinking about the how it had felt kissing Oswald's cheek like that. It hadn't been the worst feeling and he knew he could stand doing it again when the time required. His thoughts drifted to other things he may have to do in his plan to trick Oswald and his found them starting to become wilder and wilder. Maybe it was the warm water so satisfying to lay in or the exhilaration he had felt teasing Oswald in the doorway or a combination of the two that made him become incredibly hard. Listening carefully for any sounds of movement outside the bathroom he concluded that Oswald had left. Slowly moving his hand under the water and running his fingers along the inside of his leg he grasped his erection. Closing his eyes, breathing heavy he gave himself into the temptation of his thoughts about Oswald and began to stroke himself steadily. It took longer than usual as his dominant hand was currently indisposed but after several minutes he came, gasping, imagining Oswald here in the bath with him, his naked body pressed firmly against his own. It felt, _exhilarating_ , to think about Oswald in this manner. He had never done so before but now it was all he wanted to think about. Head lolling to one side against the edge of the bath, regaining his breath he looked down at the now ruined bathwater and realized he would have to relocate to the shower. He stood under the hot water letting it simply run over him for ages, but then, head clearing from the euphoria he released what he had let himself do. It was fine, he thought as the hot water of the shower rushed over him, being careful not to let his bandaged hand get wet. He began to rationalize his actions to himself. He had gotten it out of his system, given himself a clear head for the rest of the day and Oswald's return. It didn't mean anything, just a physical precaution to stop him getting distracted, he would be able to focus better now he told himself.

After his shower Edward checked that he was indeed alone in the house and then made his way to his old room. It was much smaller than Oswald's but still larger than he had ever been used to in his life. He searched through his set of draws and found a collection of his clothes. He selected a simple shirt and pair of trousers, much plainer then his new green suit that he felt far more comfortable and appropriate in. These plain clothes were a reminder of his old self which had been making such an appearance lately he didn’t need extra reminders, however he had to play the part. He dug around in his wardrobe and found the signature item that would tie the outfit together, the sweater Oswald had given him in Arkham. Pulling it on he turned to look in the mirror and with a twinge of annoyance he found he looked exactly like the vision of Nygma he had been seeing. Nygma spared him any commentary but he knew it would only be a matter of time before his reappearance. He also knew that he would have to return to Barbara with the story of his escape from The Court as word would soon get out of his escape and Oswald's continued existence. For now however he figured he could spare this one extra day. He would bring it up with Oswald tonight and head to The Sirens tomorrow. He spent most of the day reading in Oswald's study and then planning out his story for Barbara. Then there was this business of the weapon The Court was planning to turn on the city. Without any knowledge of what it was he couldn't plan for whatever would happen but he could still take time to prepare what he did have should the need arise for it. He piled up pages of notes on Oswald’s desk, his small cramped writing filling the pages. He had worked extensively on his plans for the murders of Gotham’s intellectual’s while staying here and he suddenly realized that all those notes were nowhere to be seen. He had left them right here and no one else had been here to move them. Searching around the study he quickly found them in the waste paper basket. Frowning, he pulled them all out and brought them back to the desk. He busied himself sorting through them and arranging them back into a reasonable order after someone had carelessly jumbled them up. 

Feeling restless from a long day of work Edward decided to stretch and do a lap of the house. He also realized how hungry he was becoming. Since he had not eaten since the previous day. Rather than leaving the house and risking not being home when Oswald returned he decided to wait it out and hope Oswald brought him something. As he entered the drawing room he noticed the piano, dusty from lack of use. He had not played the piano in such a long time. Thinking back he realized the last time he had played had been when Oswald had been staying with him and they had woken Jim Gordon together with a song. A lot had happened since then and he had never found time for small pleasures such as playing the piano. He had been in Arkham, assisted Oswald in winning office, fallen in love, completed his transformation into The Riddler and escaped from the clutches of the mysterious Court. These recent events all appeared so grand and important compared to the life of the GCPD forensics expert Edward Nygma, a man who went to work everyday, played video games and piano and lived in a one room apartment. He decided that since he was here to play the part of Edward Nygma he may as well indulge himself. He took a seat at the piano, lifted the cover and played a few notes. It returned to him easily enough, but with one of his hands stiff and bandaged it was difficult to play anything properly. He persevered as best he could and as he played memories of lonely nights in his apartment returned to him, where he sat alone listening to music, solving puzzles and planning how he would ask Miss Kringle out on a date the next day at work. The pain of his hand mixed with the memories of his old life brought on a melancholy with him. There had only been a small handful of people who had visited him in his old apartment, two of whom were practically held there against their will. Oswald had demanded to leave several times during his short stay and Jim Gordon had almost immediately made to leave when he woke up to find The Penguin and Nygma as company. Even Kristen had tried to escape when he had foolishly outed himself as Dougherty's killer. The sense of loneliness filled Edward as he continued to play. No one had ever wanted to be close to Edward Nygma, once they discovered what he was like. That's why he had to become The Riddler. The Riddler thrived on his own, was above all the others who mocked him and called him 'freak'. If anyone had loved him for who he was, Edward Nygma, then we wouldn't need to have become the man he was now. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of the music and the pain surging through his hand.

"Except for one person though" came Nygma's voice inside his ear. "Oswald brought me into his home before I became The Riddler" he continued in a sad reflective voice. Edward began to play as complicated a piece of music as he could manage attempting to drown out Nygma's voice in his head with the noise and pain. He finished the piece and brought his hands to rest on the keys praying he would not have to be subjected to more of Nygma's pity, however, It was another another voice that broke the silence.

"You play so beautifully, it's been too long since I've heard you." Oswald said from the behind him. Edward span around to look at Oswald, removing his hands from the keys and closing the cover, his face beginning to redden. "No please, don't stop" Oswald insisted while moving across the room and taking a seat on the small bench next to him. "I want to hear you play" he said lifting the cover and playing a few notes himself.

"My hand..." Edward gestured. "I shouldn't."

"Then I'll have to help you" Oswald stated placing his own hands on the keys next to Edward's. Edward smiled awkwardly and began to play a simple melody, he stopped short of the end by a few notes and gestured that Oswald should finish. Caught slightly off guard Oswald scrambled to play the last few notes but they came out of tempo and rushed. Edward let out a genuine laugh and played the his melody again. This time Oswald hit the remaining ones in time and they both smiled at one another in celebration at their little achievement. Edward played the melody again this time getting faster. He played more and more with Oswald accompanying in his own simple way. They did not speak apart from the occasional giggle at a missed note or a congratulations at a particularly difficult part. Edward felt, happy. Not the kind of happiness that came from the elation of a scheme come to fruition or an adrenaline fueled murder but a genuine sense of happiness. The kind of happy he had felt when Oswald had first come to stay with him, when he had had dinner with Jim, Lee and Kristen. The kind of happiness that The Riddler wasn't allowed, the kind that made you vulnerable and weak. As he finished the song he turned to look at Oswald, he was so lost in the moment that he forgot about everything except the man accompanying him. Without a consideration for motive or outcome he leaned across and seized Oswald's mouth in his own, kissing him as deeply as possible.  
  
  
****  
  
Oswald tucked Edward back under the covers of the bed. As he did he considered the various jobs that needed doing around the house, now including the smashed mirror in the bathroom.

"I'll have to get Olga back" he said "There's no food left in the house, the bathroom is covered in glass. I suppose she stopped coming to work after my absence from the house." Not that Oswald had expected her to stick around during his absence of course but good help was hard to find. 

"Actually..." mumbled Edward. "I fired her... Oswald found himself annoyed by this news. Just how much had Ed taken it upon himself to destroy Oswald's home? It is true that Ed had committed greater crimes against him compared to firing his housekeeper but those were things he had learnt to to deal with from a larger perspective. These little things like wrecking his portrait, returning to live in his house uninvited and firing Olga were just plain _irritating_. Petty slights that showed a level of disrespect, but if he could move past Edward's actions at the dock he would move past this

"Well no harm done." he said as he gave Ed's arm a slight comforting squeeze trying to hide the annoyance in his voice. "No one can pay her more then me so I'll have her back in no time I'm sure." He got up, knowing that he needed to remove himself from Edward's presence before he made any snarky remarks.  
  
Downstairs he fetched his address book from the study and found Olga's number, dialing it he was eventually greeted by voicemail. 

"Olga!" he stated in the most upbeat way he could manage. "I would like you to return to work for me at the manor, regardless of what Mr. Nygma has told you, your services are required once again. With a suitable pay rise of course. I look forward to hearing your response." He hung up and leaned back in his chair considering his plan of action for the day. The Edward problem presented itself as a difficult one, although he no longer felt the impending fear of Edward hunting him down to murder him the fact that he was asleep upstairs in his bed made him no less at ease. He had to go and see Ivy, but was unsure if he should bring her back here. Edward may become jealous or threatened by her presence if he thinks she is being kept around as backup. He knew for certain he definitely wasn't taking Edward with him. Ivy's was the only safe house he had that Ed did not know the whereabouts of. If something did go wrong between them he would need somewhere safe to hide. There was no other option, he would have to leave Edward alone in the house while he went out. He considered this and decided it would work well in his plan to out The Riddler. If this was genuine then Ed would wait patiently for his return or if not he would become bored and restless leading to him potentially making a mistake as he often did when he couldn't control the situation. Next was the food and mirror situation. He would eat while at Ivy's but Edward would be stuck here with nothing for the best part of the day. Oswald made the harsh decision that that would just have to be they way it was. Edward had been the one who had fired Olga after all, now he could deal with the consequences of that decision Oswald looked down and observed the state of his desk, piles of notes left by Edward littering it. After throwing away countless pages and plans regarding murders of intellectuals with question marks drawn all over he managed to get his office back into a state of order. Fetching a broom he made his way quietly upstairs and back into his bedroom. Edward was sound asleep in the bed. Oswald made his way through to the bathroom encountering a pillow in the middle of the floor that had not been there before, he wasn't even going to think about why that was there. Once inside he swept all the glass off to an unused corner of the room. Choosing an outfit from his wardrobe he then showered and dressed in the bathroom. He decided to run Edward a bath, once awake he would need to freshen up and Oswald wanted him away from the shower so that they did not have a repeat glass smashing if The Riddler showed up again. 

Bath filled and ready to leave for Ivy's Oswald moved to the bed to wake his sleeping friend. He had decided exactly how to play this. He had indulged Edward up until this point but he wanted to play it a bit tougher now. He would simply wake him and leave, no hugs, kisses or touches. He shook Edward gently and Edward sleepily rolled over and pulled himself onto his elbows. Edward had neglected to take off his glasses before falling asleep and they now sat lop sided on his face. The vision of Edward with his tousled hair, sleepy expression and glasses askew was too much. How could he be this unintentional _charming_ , Oswald thought. Oswald considered how he must look in comparison. He had surely never looked this good in his life and yet here was Ed, a vision even in his waking moments, the out of bed look so becoming on him, lying in his bed. Instantly going back on his promise to not engage in any physical contact Oswald reached out and propped the glasses back straight on Edward's face letting his fingers linger for a second longer than needed. 

"I have to go out" Oswald stated removing his hand and cursing himself for his moment of weakness. "How are you feeling?"

"Better" Edward responded. Oswald noticed that Ed had started to let his eyes wonder over him, lingering his gaze of the fine details of Oswald's outfit. Oswald felt a surge of confidence as he noticed Edward beginning to blush. "Oswald!" Edward suddenly blurted out as if interrupting someone. He calmed himself before continuing to speak. "I'll... miss you... while you're out" he managed. Oswald's confidence increased again, this had been exactly what he had wanted to hear. If Edward was suspicious of his movements or keen to leave he may have suggest he go with Oswald or get a lift somewhere but rather he had indicated he was going to stay here. Oswald knew that he would be able to leave the house without further incident now and that Edward would wait patiently for him to return. Edward didn't realize how important these words had been in soothing Oswald's concern for the day and he knew The Riddler would hate that. 

"We'll, I'll have to keep the lock tightly fastened on the medicine cabinet then won't I?" Oswald joked, filled with the high of a small victory over Edward. He got up from the bed making a point to not to touch or look at Edward as he did so. "I've drawn you a bath, perhaps a nice long soak will do you some good. I shouldn't be too long out on business." He began to move across the room promising himself he would not look back. Then just as he reached the doorway Edward had jumped out of bed and was suddenly upon him. Edward lent down and kissed his cheek which was now turning red at an alarming rate. Then to top it off he gently rubbed his nose in the place his lips had just been.

"I'll behave myself while you’re out" Edward breathed cheekily into his ear. His breath was hot and arousing against Oswald's skin. Oswald stood there stunned unable to move or speak feeling as if any action may make him burst from nerves. Thank god Edward quickly retreated into the bathroom so he did not see how useless the action had rendered him. Oswald leaned against the wall breathing heavy and attempting to calm himself down. He noticed his pants were uncomfortably tight as Edward's breath on his ear had made him hard. It was not the first time Edward had evoked this kind of response in him but it had caught him by surprise. It took him several minutes in the corridor to regain his composure before he made his way downstairs and out of the house. So much for his small victory he had prematurely celebrated, it wasn't fair how easily Edward was able to unravel him. He wondered if there was anyway he could have that effect on Edward.  
  
Oswald was forced to call for a cab as he had also lost the use of his driver during the extended absence. He had Ivy meet him a short distance from her house so as not to away his exact destination. She stood on the street corner, her red hair shining in the sun. She took his arm and the set off for the house together. 

"So how was your night alone in the big spooky house Mr. Penguin?" she asked. "See any ghosts?"

"No," responded Oswald with a small smile, "not this time." Oswald noted how refreshing Ivy's company felt. Her naivety and enthusiasm was welcome after the last couple of nights he had had. 

"So, how about your best friend revenge plan? Come up with something good?" she asked excitedly. Oswald hushed her.

"Don't speak about things like that out in public. Best wait until we are in the house and can speak freely" he explained to his young associate. Was he going to be mentoring another one of Gotham's young and upcoming? He wasn't sure if he wanted to make a habit of this. As they walked his stomach started complaining about his increased movement but lack of food.

"Does Pengy need some fish in that belly?" Ivy asked with an amused look on her face.

"I've told you, don't call me that" Oswald snapped.

"Aww, why not? Pengy, Pengy, Pengy!" she chanted gleefully.

"Cut it out!" he began but then stopped when he realized exactly who he sounded like. His mind drifted back to Edward alone at the mansion. What was he up to? Perhaps reading or destroying more of Oswald's personal property.  
Once at the house Oswald requested something to eat, anything Ivy was able to bring him. She returned from the kitchen with tuna sandwiches and homemade tea both of which Oswald devoured. 

"Slow down Penguin, you'll make yourself sick." 

"Trust me, Ivy, if there's one thing I'm good at it's eating sandwiches" he said laughing to himself. 

"So," Ivy began attempting a serious tone, "what's the plan?"

"The plan my dear, has changed somewhat" Oswald answered finishing the last of his tea. "You know the saying keep your friend close and your enemies closer? A little cliche I admit but in this situation it works quite nicely." Ivy nodded as if she knew exactly what he meant but Oswald figured this was her attempt to act serious. "In short, Edward Nygma will be staying with me at my house." 

"What?" gasped Ivy. "But I thought you wanted to kill each other or something?"

"Yes well plans change sometimes" Oswald admitted. "Now, your turn, how are we are the Bridget and Fries side of things?" Oswald suddenly became aware of how much this situation reminded him of his days as King of Gotham. Except instead of twenty or so mobsters sitting at his long table taking orders from him he sat alone with this young girl, confiding more trust in her then he had with any of those others. He couldn't decide yet if this was a step up or down. 

"I haven't heard from them, but I called someone who might be able to help us. She'll be here soon." Ivy said with confidence.

"What!?" Oswald snapped. "You told someone else we were hiding here?"

"Oh don't worry, she's a close friend she wouldn't tell anyone else" Ivy assured him. They continued to talk and drink tea while they waited for the associate of Ivy's. Then some fifteen minutes later Selina Kyle slunk into the kitchen barely making a sound. Oswald jump as she announced herself.

"This had better be important Ivy" Selina stated to the room. "I have important stuff on." 

"Mr Penguin need's your help" Ivy announced while moving to hug her friend. 

"Perhaps" responded Selina, "for the right price."

"I assure you, you will be fairly reimbursed for your time." Penguin said as he poured some tea and handed it to her. She took it and sniffed it before setting it down on the table and taking a seat.

"Fine, what's the job?" she asked shortly.

"We hunted down these freaks to help destroy Nygma and Barbara.” Ivy began, trying her best to sound official. “We got this freeze guy and your pal Bridget , who does the fire thing-"

"Wait, you found Bridget?" interrupted Selina. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, Pengy disappeared the other day and she and Fries figured he wasn't coming back so they split." Ivy said looking over at Oswald.

"Can you find her?" Oswald asked a hit of annoyance in his voice after listening to Ivy explain how he had been deserted after such a short time.

"Why?" Selina asked cautiously.

"Actually, yeah, why? Now that Nygma is living with you again why do you-"

"Shhh!" Oswald hissed at her. He liked Ivy but discretion was not her strong suit, now there was another person who knew of him and Nygma. Which was not helpful.

"Ignore her" he told Selina shooting a sideways glance at Ivy. "There is a war coming between me, Ed Nygma and Barbara Kean and I need my army." Selina eyed Oswald suspiciously. 

"Fine" she responded finally, getting up from her chair. "When I find them, I'll send them to you." She left without another word. Once she was gone Ivy turned to Oswald.

"Sorry" she mumbled looking disappointed with herself.

"What's done is done" Oswald responded blankly. "I'm sure it will be fine. Now to business" he stated turning to her with an excited look on his face. "I have an empire I need to rebuild and you're going to help me." She perked up upon hearing this, a wide smile forming as she reached out and pulled him into a hug.

"Yay!" she called out excitedly, hugging him. Oswald politely patted her on the back.  
They worked for several hours, making phone calls, inquiring into gossip and planning for the The Penguin's return as the rightful King of Gotham. It started to get late and Oswald suddenly realized Edward was still alone at the house. He rang for a private car and said a rushed goodbye to Ivy, promising to contact her again soon. 

"Thank you for all your help today, you have a knack for this kind of thing" he assured her as he hugged her goodbye and made his way to the end of the street. On his way back he organised for food to be delivered to both his and Ivy's place. Between Edward and Ivy he wondered if this was what having children was like. Watching them get excited, always seeking your approval and becoming upset if they screw up. He felt exhausted.

  
As he opened the front door of his house he heard music, it sounded like it was coming from the drawing room. His heart skipped a beat as he realized it must be Edward playing the piano, he had not heard him play for such a long time. Closing the front door he rushed as quickly, but quietly, as he could to listen. He did not want Ed to stop playing on account of his arrival. He looked through the doorway and his theory was confirmed. Edward sat with his back to him bent over the piano playing a beautiful piece. He had only heard him play several times during their friendship, the first being when Edward had played his mother's lullaby with the intention of cheering Oswald up after he had vowed to give up on everything and leave Gotham.  
Oswald noticed how Edward had chosen to dress. Not loud or obnoxious like he had taken to of late, but instead, simple. The sweater he noted was the one that he had gifted Edward during his time Arkham. Oswald suspected that this was an intentional choice of outfit. After the stunt Edward had pulled with the kiss this morning Oswald knew that this was the kind of thing he need to be weary of, still, he wasn't complaining. Edward finished playing and Oswald stared in silence for a few seconds letting some tension build before speaking. He knew Edward would appreciate the dramatic effect.

"You play so beautifully, it's been too long since I've heard you." Oswald stated, smiling. Edward span around to look at him. He withdrew his hands from the keys looking like a deer in the headlights, his face reddening. "No please, don't stop" Oswald said reassuringly. He moved to the small bench and took his place next to Ed. "I want to hear you play" he said lifting the cover and played a few notes. 

"My hand..." Edward gestured. "I shouldn't." 

"Then I'll have to help you" Oswald said happily placing his hands down his end of the keys. Edward's embarrassment of being caught faded from his face but was replaced with one of his awkward grins. Oswald once again became lost in his eyes, whenever he was around Edward he couldn't help himself no matter what he promised himself while alone. Focusing too much on how Ed looked as he stared down at the keys Oswald realized he was supposed to join in the last few notes. In his haste he fumbled the keys and made a mess of the melody. Edward laughed and the sound of his friends happiness filled him. Edward played the melody again and this time Oswald was ready. They both smiled at one another and Edward continued to play Oswald joining in where he could. They laughed and encouraged one another. Oswald suddenly felt a sadness fall upon him. Why couldn't it always be like this? Why did they have to bicker and fight like children when this, _this_ , felt so right. They complimented each other perfectly and when working together Oswald believed there was nothing they couldn't achieve together. But he had ruined it all, in a selfish act in desperation to keep Edward by his side. Now they were stuck in this horrible place unable to fully trust one another. As they finished playing he decided it might be for the best to bring this up with Edward here and now, get it all out before either of them hurt one another anymore. He turned to speak but before he could say anything Edward's lips were against his own. Edward kissed him so deeply he instantly forgot about everything he had just been thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know where I want to go with this story now so look forward to more updates soon!


	3. You can put me anywhere you like, but there is only one right place for me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward realizes that his plan is coming unraveled and has to deal with the continued input from Nygma regarding his failures as The Riddler. Meanwhile Oswald unknowingly prepares a meal that may give the two of them a chance to reclaim a lost moment.

After what seemed like an eternity Edward broke away from Oswald. He lent forward placing his forehead against Oswald's so their noses brushed against one another. He then placed one hand on the back of Oswald's head pulling him close to his chest. He closed his eyes savoring the memory, he wanted to block out everything except how he felt in this moment. But suddenly a wave of reality hit him. No! This is not genuine! I am here for a purpose not to fall for him. Remember the plan, this is all just an act, this is all just an act, he repeated over and over in his head. 

"But its not" Nygma said for somewhere behind him. "How long are you going to pretend? Its starting to wear thin." Suddenly Edward was startled by the sound of the doorbell. Oswald let out an annoyed groan. 

"That will be the food. Excuse me while I fetch it and kill the delivery boy for interrupting us. Go sit in the dining room and wait for me." Oswald planted another smaller kiss on Edward's lips as he pried himself away. Edward watched him go feeling conflicted about whether he was annoyed or happy they had been interrupted.  
"We need to talk" said Nygma sitting in the vacant space left by Oswald. Edward let out a startled gasp.

"Stop doing that" he said getting up from the bench to move to the dining room but Nygma appeared in front of him blocking the doorway.

"Now you know how I felt all those times" Nygma responded flatly. "But honestly its time we figured this out." 

"We don't need to do anything" Edward responded making another attempt to move past but being blocked again.

"You will not silence me again, you're going to listen. We have to fix us."

"I already fixed us" Edward snapped. 

"And I tend to agree... to an extent" Nygma responded. "When you took over, helped me become who I really wanted to be, it was _exhilarating_. I mean look at us, strong, confident, stylish, everything we ever wanted. Except for now. This denial, this blatant lying to ourselves, its not who we are supposed to be."

"I am exactly who I want to be!" Edward hissed trying his hardest not to yell.

"NO you're not!" Nygma yelled starting to become emotional. 

"I am The Riddler!" Edward insisted aggressively trying to convince himself as much as Nygma.

"You can't just yell 'I am the Riddler' every time you want to hide your true feelings and it expect it to work!" Nygma yelled in a mocking tone. 

"Don't you think I know that!" Edward said before he could stop himself. "I don't need you to tell me that. That's why the quicker we destroy Penguin, the quicker things can go back to the way they were. Now get out of my way" He made to move past Nygma but his double stepped in to block him.

"I did not let you take over so that you could do this to us!" Nygma retaliated, frustrated tears starting to form in his eyes. "You," he stabbed a finger into Edward's chest, "were supposed to fix everything that was wrong with our life, but now you can't even do that! So what is the _point_ of you!" The words came like a slap in the face to Edward. He stared in stunned silence unable to think of what to say in response. "At least if I was still in control I could admit that I was in love with that man and we could be happy! But your ego won't even let us have that." Nygma sat back down at the piano removing his glasses and wiping away his tears.

"But... Isabella" Edward mumbled using the only argument he could think of that would not make him have to confront these accusations. 

"Oh, please. We both know it was never about that. Ever since you found out Oswald was in love with you you've just been hiding behind revenge for Isabella so you didn't have to confront your new confusing feelings." 

"But what he did was selfish-"

"Killing out of jealousy in order to stop someone else from haveing the object of your desire. We're have I heard that one before. Oh right, outside of Miss Kringle's house, Officer Dougherty."  
"You know it was because he was hurting her, _you_ of all people should know that!"

"And I don't regret it for a second! I would have done anything to protect her. And-" 

"Oswald would do the same for me..." Edward finished. They remained in silence for several moments before Nygma spoke.

"We don't deserve to be happy, we never will."

Edward remained in silence staring at his former self. His head was beginning to throb and he wanted nothing more in this instant than to curl up in a ball hidden away where no one would ever lay eyes on him ever again. He felt ashamed. How had he let this happen, he was supposed to be the strong half, yet here was Nygma, one hundred percent accurate in his current assessment of their situation. He had failed, his transformation to The Riddler was supposed to have made him unstoppable, but now look at him. Perhaps it was time to stop pretending... Stop pretending he was anything else then an awkward forensics analysis who got carried away in an attempt to be _something_ , _anything_ , other than Edward Nygma. He was unlike Oswald who wore his Penguin persona seamlessly in tandem with his regular self. They were one in the same, Oswald Cobblepot The Penguin, King of Gotham, not a loser in a suit trying to trick everyone into thinking he was something else. How did Oswald do it with such ease? How could he, Edward, ever measure up to someone like The Penguin, whose very presence struck fear into his enemies but at the same time was loved by enough people to become Mayor. Edward was mentally exhausted and incredibly hungry and it was time for it to stop. Stop pretending, stop playing around and stop ruining every chance he had for proper happiness.  
He knew what he had to do. Giving in, he turned to face Nygma 

"Alright" he said, kneeling down in front of his other self who placed his glasses back on, the two were now staring at each other face to face. "From now on, we do it together." 

"W-What?" Nygma stammered, You.. you mean that?" He was clearly not convinced. 

"I'm not above admitting that there may be certain, aspects, of life you are better at then I. Perhaps it would be useful to let you call the shots sometimes." It had taken all the willpower Edward could muster to admit it to himself but he knew it was the truth. Nygma let out a small laugh.

"You look like it hurt you to say that." Edward held up his hand to silence him. 

"If we're going to be the most fierce villain this city has ever seen. Then we have to do it together and with Oswald at our side, we'll be unstoppable." He grinned simply thinking about the notion getting to his feet and beginning to pace, one hand raised to his mouth as he thought. Nothing made him more excited than putting a plan together, he was filled with a new found energy. There were so many aspects he had to consider. Luckily he had done all that prep work during the day, he was off with a head start. "First things, first! The Court releasing some kind of weapon on they city, if we can figure out what-"

"Whoa, let's not get carried away too fast! Aren't you forgetting something?" Nygma said snapping him back to reality. Edward stared blankly at him for a few seconds.

"Oh right! Our dinner date!" This time as he moved for the door the way was clear but he stopped short his mind beginning to race. He looked back at Nygma, beaming. 

"Something wrong?" Nygma asked inquisitively.

"I'm having dinner with Oswald Cobblepot..." Edward responded looking Nygma up and down and then himself. "I have a second chance..." He tore out of the room and rather than heading into the dining room he headed for the stairs taking them two at a time. 

"Edward, where are you going?" Oswald asked confused from the base of the stairs. Without turning around Edward responded.

"Just a minute, I'll be right there." He entered his room and threw open the wardrobe. He searched through his suits searching for the _one_ and it's matching tie and shoes. Dressing as quick as he could and then racing to the bathroom to slick his hair down he observed himself in the mirror. Perfect. "Oh, and one last thing. Would you mind... I mean could you not..." 

"Be a third wheel? You got it." Nygma said with a wink disappearing. Edward couldn't help but run down the stairs, he was too excited at the opportunity presented before him. He bypassed the dining room once again this time heading for the kitchen. He heard Oswald sounding more irritated then before. 

"Edward, what is going on, what are you doing?"

"Nearly, done! Just one more thing I need to do and then I swear I'll be there" he called over his shoulder not stopping. Oswald yelled something in response but he didn't here what it was. He entered the kitchen ran to the side door that led down into the cellar. He made his way down the narrow stone steps. to the the dark dusty hollow to where Oswald's wine rack stood, still stocked with half a dozen bottles, Edward bent down to select one. Dinner smelt like Italian in the brief time he had run passed the dining room so he selected a suitable Merlot to accompany it. Making his way back upstairs he finally entered the dining room where Oswald was seated and had apparently decided to start without him.

"Sorry, I'm late." He said beaming. He took his spot next to Oswald at the table. "Traffic was a nightmare and I had a hard time choosing the right wine." He smiled at Oswald, placing the bottle down on the table and taking Oswald's glass so he could pour them both a drink. Oswald gaped at him fork halfway to his mouth apparently unaware of what Edward was talking about. 

"What, traffic? Ed what are you talking about?" Oswald asked. Edward poured them a glass of wine each and passed one to Oswald.

"Cheers" he said raising his glass, Oswald doing the same in silence. Edward eagerly began to eat, he was ravenous after his long day. After several large satisfying mouthfuls he leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the back of his hands. 

"So," he said with a grin at Oswald who had remained silent the entire time. "This afternoon, during the school tour you said you had something important you wanted to discuss with me." 

"The school tour? Edward what are yo-" Oswald stopped suddenly his mouth falling slightly open, he had clearly had a moment of clarity about what Edward was doing. He attempted to stifle an amused laugh behind his hand.

"Oh no, I'm sorry! Is this too much?" Edward began, becoming furious with himself. " _Idiot!_ " he said under his breath to himself and started to stand up. Oswald lept out of his chair, grabbing Edwards arm. 

"No, Ed, I didn't mean it like that. Sit please." He gestured for him to sit back down. "I laughed because of how, _you_ , you are! Edward Nygma there is no one in all of Gotham quite like you." He tightened his grip on Edward's arm clearly building himself up to say something. "That's why I love you!"  
It was the nicest things anyone had ever said to him. Oswald loved him because of who he was, Edward Nygma. 

"No one has ever treated me the way you do Oswald" he said in a low voice as he took Oswald's hand, lifted it up and gently started pressing kisses along it. "You let me, be me, in a way that no one else ever has and you love me for it." He looked up into Oswald's green eyes, it was time, now or never. "That's why I love you." 

 

****

 

After breaking apart from their kiss Edward brushed their noses against one another and then pulled him into a tight but gentle embrace. Oswald wanted to stay like this forever, forget everything else and stay in Edward Nygma's arms until he died. But as usual reality once again felt the need to snatch the moment away from him, this time in the form of the doorbell. Oswald groaned not wanting to budge but knew it was better to just except it and answer the door. The quicker he left the quicker he could return to Ed's embrace. He instructed Edward to wait in the dining room while he answered the door, planting a small parting kiss on Edward's lips before leaving the room. All he could think about as he approached the door was what would be the easiest method of removing a head from someone's shoulders with his bare hands. Opening the door he was greeted by the the Italian restaurant's delivery man, holding the bag of food in one hand and a folded piece of paper in the other. Oswald reached out with his hand to take the bag.

"Hey, I know you. Mayor Crumblepot right?" the delivery man said handing him the bag and laughing to himself. Oswald could not believe his ears. 

" _Former_ Mayor" he simply replied doing everything he could to suppress his rage. He had to get back inside to Edward, he could not delay himself by killing this man where he stood. He turned to go back into the house.

"Oh, wait one more thing Mr. Mayor" The guy said, making Oswald stop in his attempt to make this encounter end as quickly as possible. "Your red headed friend asked me to give you this." He handed Oswald the folded piece of paper. Oswald looked at the man and started to grin. 

"Why thank you friend, it was so kind of you to go above your call of duty." Oswald spoke using his most sincere sounding voice he had perfected during his time in office. "May I ask your name? I must tell your boss what a great service you have done for my friend and I."

"Oh, hey, it's just a note. No big deal, I was coming here anyway."

"Oh no, I insist. Effort should be rewarded! Gotham would be a better place if it had more people like you" Oswald continued in his mayoral tone but with underlying sarcasm he was incapable of hiding. 

"Thanks Mr. Mayor, it's Miles."

"No, thank you Miles. You have a good night now." Oswald slammed the door and made a mental note to deal with the delivery man 'Miles' another time. He took the food into the kitchen and spooned the pasta onto two plates one for himself and one for Edward. He noticed the note on the bench that Ivy had sent him. It was sealed with some kind of wax on the back, no doubt from some kind of plant. He gave her credit, at least she had thought to seal the note so the messenger could not read it, but what could be so important that she sent a hand written note? He broke the seal and unfolded the paper. Scanning it he realized it was the last thing he expected, it was not a note but a drawing. A, somewhat decent, drawing of a Penguin holding a cane with a frown on its face. It was wearing a crown and standing on an iceberg underneath which was written 'King Penguin' in a stylized font. He smiled at it and laughed. He looked around to the fridge which had nothing on it except a few small magnets Olga had used to keep notes for restocking under. He pinned the drawing under one of them and admired it again. Then taking the two plates he made his way to the dining room. Oddly, Edward was not there yet. Oswald moved out of the room to see what had happened to him just in time to catch Edward bounding up the stairs. "Edward, where are you going?" Oswald called out, confused as to why Edward would need to go upstairs at such an alarming rate.

"Just a minute, I'll be right there." Edward called back not stopping. Better to just let him get on with whatever it was thought Oswald returning to the dining room and taking his usual seat at the head of the table. He sat for several minutes, watching as his food got cold. Looking around he realized he had forgotten the wine but before he could decide whether to go and get any the dark green streak that was Edward tore past headed for the kitchen. He had changed clothes, the reason for which Oswald was not going to begin attempting to understand.

"Edward, what is going on, what are you doing?" Oswald called after him becoming annoyed. 

"Nearly, done! Just one more thing I need to do and then I swear I'll be there" Edward yelled back his voice trailing off as he got out of earshot.

"Well I'm not waiting for you any more!" Oswald called out and he picked up his fork beginning to eat. He shook his head, there was no stopping Edward when he got an idea in his head and clearly something was currently buzzing around in there. Oswald got through several mouthfuls before Edward returned beaming at Oswald, wine bottle in hand. 

"Sorry, I'm late." He said as he took his spot in the chair closest to Oswald. "Traffic was a nightmare and I had a hard time choosing the right wine." Edward took their wine glasses and started to pour them each a drink. Oswald stopped eating, how had Ed known he had forgotten the wine and what was this about traffic? 

"What, traffic? Ed what are you talking about?" He asked confused. Edward looked so please with himself. Edward handed him a glass of wine and raised his own.

"Cheers" Edward said happily. Oswald simply raised his own glass, he was too distracted taking in Edward's nervous excited state. Had their kiss gotten him this wound up he wondered feeling elated that he had provoked such a response from Ed. He watched his friend begin to eat feeling a deep sensation of happiness that was so far going uninterrupted. In the back of his mind however the tiny voice was warning him to be cautious. Edward being this excited was either the best thing in the world, or the worst. They ate some more in silence, Edward devouring his food until eventually he leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the back of his hands. 

"So," he said with a grin that made Oswald's heart race. "This afternoon, during the school tour you said you had something important you wanted to discuss with me." 

"The school tour? Edward what are yo-" Oswald began but stopped suddenly. Everything fell into place as he took note of the finer details of the situation. Dinner, Edward's suit, the wine and his friends overwhelming excitement at it all. He had recreated that night, that night it had all gone wrong but here it was again, a second chance for them both. He looked at his companion enamored with him for his excitement at the situation. He couldn't hold his happiness in and attempted to stifle the amused laugh escaping him. He stopped as as he saw the excitement and colour drain from Edward's face.

"Oh no, I'm sorry! Is this too much?" Edward began, clearly upset. "Idiot!" he berated him himself as he made to get out of his chair. Oswald moved as quick as he could to stop him annoyed at himself for upsetting Edward in his moment. 

"No, Ed, I didn't mean it like that. Sit please." He gestured for him to sit back down. Looking over the man he could not begin to describe. "I laughed because of how, _you_ , you are! Edward Nygma there is no one in all of Gotham quite like you."  
Forty eight hours ago they had been ready to kill one another but now they sat here together, Edward offering up the most romantic gesture Oswald had ever had the pleasure of receiving. It wasn't a trick Oswald decided. It couldn't be, not _this_. If it was then Edward truly was the cruelest man alive but that was not the man Oswald saw sitting beside him. He tightened his grip on Edward's arm. This was it, it was finally genuinely happening and Oswald Cobblepot was going to run to it. "That's why I love you!" he stated unable to hold it in any longer. He could have died happy there and then with the look he was greeted with on Edward's face. He wanted to seize him in his arms and never let go but he gave Edward the chance to respond.

"No one has ever treated me the way you do Oswald." Edward seized his hand and began planting small sweet kisses all along it. Oswald felt like he would never feel better in his life then he did in this moment. Edward looked up from kissing his hand. Oswald stared into his deep brown eyes, lost in them. "You let me, be me, in a way that no one else ever has and you love me for it. That's why I love you." 

After dinner they moved to the couch and positioned themselves in each others arms in a way that allowed Edward to plant kisses on every available part of Oswald that he could manage. Oswald was satisfied to let him do so. He began running his hands through Edward's hair as he received a train of kisses along his neck. 

"I'm glad you are feeling better now then you were this morning. I was worried about you all day" Oswald said as he curled Edward's hair around one of his fingers. 

"Much better" Edward breathed between kisses his hot breath on Oswald's skin. After a while Edward took a break from kissing Oswald and leaned his head against his shoulder. "How was your business meeting? Making a move for the top again?" 

"Naturally" replied Oswald leaning his own head against Edward's "It shouldn't be too hard once my army returns to me. Plus with you by my side I-" He stopped himself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume that you will want to help me."

"I do want to!" Edward started excitedly removing himself from Oswald's embrace so he could look at him directly. "If, you want me that is" a shred of self doubt appearing but Oswald pulled Edward into a lustful kiss, letting his tongue brush against Edwards. 

"Oh, I want you Edward Nygma" Oswald said grabbing Edward's lapels kissing him again. Edward's hands seized Oswald's shoulders as he returned the kiss with equal force. Edward removed Oswald's hands from his jacket so he could take it off, throwing it on the floor carelessly and then doing the same with Oswald's. Edward shifted his body so has laying on the couch pulling Oswald on top of him. Oswald was surprised but completely content with Edward's eagerness. He struggled momentarily to find a comfortable place for his leg wincing as he attempted to shift it around. Edward clearly noticing his lover's struggle stopped kissing him and moved Oswald off of him so he could sit up. "I'm sorry" Oswald grumbled annoyed at himself for spoiling the moment again.

"Not a problem" Edward grinned as he stood up. "The bed will be more comfortable anyway" he said eagerly bending down level with Oswald putting one hand underneath him and one behind.

"Ed, stop! What are you doing?" Oswald protested as he was jostled about. 

"Put your hands around my neck" Edward instructed. Oswald was in no position to refuse so he did as he was told. With one mighty heave Edward lifted Oswald off the couch and into his arms.

"Ed no! Stop it! Put me down!" Oswald continued protesting as Edward made his way across the room. Oswald face burned hot as it turned red even though a small part of him was enjoying this display of strength on Edward's part. It was impressive how easily Edward managed to make it up the stairs as Oswald clutched tightly to him fearing they could fall at any moment. As they reached the door Oswald noticed it was closed. 

"Damn" muttered Edward also seeing it.

"It's okay, I can get it" Oswald said and Edward turned them so he could reach the handle. 

"We make a great team already" remarked Edward as he carefully moved them through the doorway. Once inside the bedroom Edward deposited Oswald onto the bed and stood over him looking down. Oswald could tell that Edward clearly had no idea what to do with him now that he had him here. Oswald reached up and pulled him down by his tie so Edward was on top of him.

"Just do what you feel comfortable doing" he whispered into Edward's ear then placed a kiss onto the side of his head. Edward nodded against him and pulled back, kneeling down to pull off his and Oswald's shoes and socks. Then fingers trembling he undid his belt and kicked of his pants. Oswald followed his lead undoing his own belt and lifting up so Edward could remove his pants for him. Fumbling with each other buttons between kisses they stripped each other of their shirts and ties so they lay there tangled together in just their underwear.  
Edward's hands glided over every part of Oswald's body causing him to twitch and tremble as Edward's hands explored every new area of him. Edward was so tall Oswald could barely reach all of him so his own caresses were limited to Edward's torso. He wanted to feel every inch of Edward's body on his, finally learn all the intimate details that he had been hiding under those striking suits. 

 

****

 

Edward took the time to notice every little tremble he evoked in Oswald as he ran his hands along his body. He planted kisses on the parts that seemed to be the most sensitive to his touch desperate to discover what drove Oswald the most crazy. After he was satisfied he had felt every part of Oswald's bare skin he re-positioned them both so Oswald was laying on his back and he could straddle him. He looked down at his little Penguin, hair out of place and flushed he looked even better then he had imagined earlier that day. He could feel how hard Oswald was beneath him and he grinned moving his head down so he could kiss Oswald's neck and whisper into his ear. 

"Is this okay?" he asked between kisses as he ground his hips against Oswald's.

"Perfect" Oswald replied with a small moan. He began matching Edward's enthusiasm by grabbing his hips and pulling them closer together. He wanted more, he wanted every part of Oswald all for himself. He pulled back onto his knees and moving to one side began to tug at Oswald's underwear pulling it down. Oswald let out a sharp breath.

"Still okay?" he asked nervously unsure if this pace was acceptable for Oswald. Oswald sat up placing one hand behind Edward's neck pulling him close to kiss him. 

"Only if these come off too" he whispered placing one hand on Edward's dark green briefs beginning to pull them down. Removing both pairs with adept speed Edward then moved onto his knees over Oswald so they could have a full view of one another. Unable to keep his hands off of Oswald any longer he bent over continuing to kiss him as fiercely as possible while grinding their hips against one another. Oswald broke away from Edward's lips and instead began to kiss his neck using his teeth to bite him occasionally between kisses. The sensation overwhelmed Edward as he thrust harder still against Oswald. 

"Oswald", he cried out out becoming overwhelmed by the sensation. He couldn't help it anymore, he lifted his hips slightly, reached down and wrapped his hand around Oswald gentle but firmly stroking in time to his hip movements. Oswald began to twitch and he dug his fingernails into Edward's hips. 

"Oh, _god_ , Edward!" Oswald moaned as he came covering Edward's hand. Edward showered Oswald with kisses everywhere he could. After a minute Edward sat up and looked down admiring his lover and the state he had driven him to. He reached down and swept Oswald's hair off of his sweaty forehead and planted one last kiss there. He rolled off of Oswald and found some tissues on the night stand to clean them both up with. He looked over at Oswald in his muddled state and smiled while pulling the blankets out from underneath them so he could climb under the covers with him. He placed his glasses on the nightstand.

"Do you, want me to-" Oswald began in a muddled voice but Edward hushed him.

"No, seeing you like that was good enough for me." he assured him. "You look beautiful." He laid on his back and pulled Oswald towards him so the small man's head was resting on his chest. "Go to sleep Oswald. I'll be right here" he finished, placing another kiss on Oswald's forehead before closing his eyes. He was happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a chance for these two to connect before they are thrown into the chaotic events of episodes 21 & 22!
> 
> I was unsatisfied with my chapter titles so I have gone back and changed them so they are all in keeping with one convention. Can you solve them all?


	4. If you have me, you want to share me. Once you share me, you won't have me.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward finds that he must now share and fight for Oswald's attention with a young woman named Ivy. Oswald decides he doesn't want to make it easy for him either. Oswald soon regrets it however when Barbara Kean arrives with a proposition for The Riddler.

Edward awoke for the second morning in a row to the sunlight shining in through the curtains. Oswald was no longer in his arms as he had been when they fell asleep. He lifted his head off the pillow to search for his companion finding him near the edge of the bed clearly having rolled away in his sleep. Edward scooted over to spoon Oswald and nuzzling his nose into the mess of black hair. Oswald let out a sleepy moan of approval moving back as close to Edward as he could get. They lay there together undisturbed simply taking time to enjoy each others company. Around an hour later there was a knock on the bedroom door. Instinctively Edward shot up out of bed as quickly and silently as possible. throwing on his glasses he grabbed a candlestick off of Oswald's dresser and moved towards the door. 

"Mr Kapelput? Are you in there?" came the familiar voice of Olga. "I return like you ask, bring breakfast and newspaper for you." Edward lowered the candlestick as Oswald let out a sigh from the bed and called back.

"I'll be down in a minute when I'm proper. Mr Nygma is in the house too, please prepare something for him as well." Edward heard her grunt of disapproval for the other side of the door. He figured he shouldn't expect or deserve anything less. 

"There is someone else here too. Young girl." Olga called back. "I find her in the driveway when I arrive walking up to house."  
"Red Hair?" Oswald asked as if he knew the answer already.

"Da" replied Olga. Edward looked at Oswald inquisitively. Oswald waved a hand gesturing not to worry about it.

"Make her feel welcome please, I'll be down as soon as I can." Oswald responded pulling back the covers and was getting out of bed. Edward scanned the room and saw the dressing gown on a hook next to the dresser, he fetched it and took it Oswald assisting him into it. He was thanked in the form of a kiss and an up and down inspection of his still naked body. Oswald raised one eyebrow and smiled in approval as he moved to the bathroom closing the door behind him. Edward watched him go, face flushing and an uncontrollable grin appearing on his face he wanted desperately to join him for a shower but he supposed given that they had company he would have to wait for another time. Locating his shirt and underwear he dressed back into them and moved to the door. He opened it quietly looking for signs of Olga or the girl but satisfied they must be downstairs he moved stealthy back to his own room. He opened his wardrobe and selected one of his shiniest suits he had left behind for emergencies should his new residence be discovered. 

"A bit much for breakfast isn't it?" Nygma asked inspecting the outfit. Nygma was now wearing dark green jumper, the one they had worn when Oswald had first stayed with them. 

"We have to go out" Edward responded unfazed by Nygma's appearance. He was starting to get used to the sudden interjections. "Oswald is my responsibility now, I can't put him in further danger. I need to go see Barbara and come up with an excuse for my extended absence."

"Oh, great. Spending the day with that bunch of idiots instead of here with Oswald and Olga's home cooking" Nygma said annoyed.

"I know but I am still The Riddler after all. I have to keep things in balance. Until I can figure out a better plan. If Oswald's army does return to him it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of Ms. Kean. Then I'll be free to do as I like." He took his clothes and made his way to his own bathroom, showering and dressing with haste. Once fully dressed in his suit he let his hands run over it as he inspected himself in the mirror, feeling the fabric beneath his finger tips a wicked grin appeared on his face. He had to admit, he felt the best when dressed like this, something about his signature outfit made him feel _powerful_. Striding out of the bathroom with confidence, Nygma in tow hands held behind his back as he walked, they made their way downstairs. "You have to give me some credit" he began, initiating a conversation with Nygma. "You told me this plan to trick Oswald into falling in love with me was a bad one but I think everything turned out perfectly, with better results then expected." 

"An accident is not necessarily a desired outcome. A broken clock is still right two times a day. That doesn't make it right" Nygma responded pointedly. 

Edward hit the bottom of the landing and turned the corner bumping into someone who had been hiding there. He gasped in surprise and the girl screamed as they collided. Edward grabbed her elbow trying to steady her so she did not fall. This must have been the red headed girl Olga had mentioned. He suddenly realized he recalled seeing her at the Sirens the night he had tricked Butch into outing himself as the leader of the Red Hood Gang. How did Oswald know her?

"You should be more more careful when lurking in the shadows" he offered. She looked up at him clearly frightened pulling her arm out of his grip. "I was just trying to-" he began.

"PENGUIN!" she yelled not taking her eyes off Edward who was confused as to what was happening. Oswald appeared at the top of the stairs dressed in a deep purple suit and hair styled to perfection. Edward took a moment to appreciate how wonderful he was, he could look at him forever. The girl barged passed Edward and joined Oswald halfway up the stairs. Edward noticed Oswald had forgotten his cane but the girl had already extended an arm to assist him down the stairs. Edward's confusion turned to annoyance as he watched the girl assisting Oswald when it should be him doing that job.

"You too not playing nice already? Well I'm not in the mood for mediating so behave during breakfast, both of you!" Oswald said shaking his head. As the two walked past arm in arm the girl looked back over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Edward unseen by Oswald. Edward stood frozen in place, he frowned, confused once again and looked over at Nygma who shook his head and shrugged equally confused. Edward followed them into the dining room his and saw that Olga had placed two settings in a row on Oswald's right rather than one of each side. His straggling causing him the place next to Oswald at the table as the girl had already taken it. She was sitting with her feet up on the chair under her and was leaning across the corner of the table attempting to tell Oswald something but stopped when he entered. Edward knew how childish it would look to move his setting to the other side of the table so resigned to sit next to the still mysterious girl. 

"So what should I call you?" Edward offered to the girl attempting to rise above her actions for Oswald's sake.

"Oh, of course introductions" Oswald said smiling happily. "Ivy this is Edward Nygma, The Riddler, who I have often spoken of." 

"The one you want to kill?" she asked in a manner that was clearly aimed to get a rise out of Edward. 

"Well yes, but not anymore as you'll remember me saying yesterday. Edward, this is Ivy Pepper my new associate." Edward held out his hand attempting to be as civil as possible. She returned the gesture but they both squeezed harder than necessary. 

"Nice suit" Ivy said in a sweet but sarcastic voice. Edward would have kicked her under the table if her legs were not up on the chair. He focused his attention on breakfast instead taking a sip of his orange juice.

"Yes, Edward what is with the suit? Oswald asked inquisitively. "A bit much for around the house. I'd rather see you in something like earlier this morning" he added casually. 

Edward, mid sip, spat out the orange juice he was drinking back into the glass trying not to choke. As he spluttered he looked over and saw Oswald had a smug grin on his face as he cut into his eggs. Ivy gave them both a sideways glance clearly ignorant to the meaning of Oswald's statement. Olga entered the room with a rack of toast for them placing it on the table. 

"I.. I have to go out" Edward stated recovering and taking some toast before Ivy could get it all. Olga stopped in her tracks.

"You can't go out there" she said firmly looking at him. "Is not safe. I returned to job because it is safer out here than in city". 

"Well when has Gotham ever been a safe place?" Oswald said with a laugh.

"You have not seen news?" Olga asked looking at each of them in turn a look of concern on her face. They all shook their heads. Edward spotted the rolled up newspaper she had placed in the center of the table and snatched it up unrolling it as fast as he could. 

"Tetch Virus Infects City" the headline read. They all looked at one another astonished.

"The Court" Edward said beginning to scan the article, Oswald nodded with silent agreement. Ivy looking between the two of them also attempted to nod along convincingly in agreement.

"Like I say, is not safe out there" Olga said as she left the room. 

Edward read out the article aloud to the others. When he finished he began to skim the inner pages searching for any other details the main article had left out.  
"Good thing we're out here together then, right Pengy" Ivy said stuffing her mouth with toast. _Pengy_ though Edward considering the nickname, he decided he didn't like it, he bet he could come up with a better one.

"You said you had to go somewhere Ed, may I ask where? Oswald asked. "Given the circumstances perhaps it would be better to stay in. This kind of chaos can be good for business. We should take the opportunity presented to make some moves." Ivy clapped her hands in excitement. 

"Yes! Penguin plans are the best plans" she said in an excited voice. 

"Well they are pretty good I suppose," Penguin said attempting modesty. "But if you want to see real plan come to fuition then it is that man sitting to your right who is the one you want on your side" Oswald stated with a sense of pride in his voice. "I should know, I was on the receiving end of a particularly proficient one." Edward couldn't help but smile from behind his newspaper as Oswald paid him this compliment but out of the corner of his eye he saw Ivy's eyes narrow suspiciously as she stared at him. He felt an ounce of sadness too as the plan Oswald was referring to had seen Edward shoot him off the end of the dock. He felt angry and confused as to why Oswald had made light of it. 

"I have to go to the Sirens" he stated shortly, placing his newspaper down and getting up. He may as well go if not for the sake of covering his tracks but for the purpose of escaping a day being trapped in the house with Ivy. He knew she would be a constant source of annoyance as he tried to work. He began to exit the room leaving his breakfast half eaten. 

"Wait, Edward!" Oswald called. Edward located a hidden pistol in one of the draws in the lounge, checking it was loaded he tucked it into his belt. Oswald appeared beside him grabbing his face and pulling it towards him so they were looking at each other. "What is this about?" Oswald demanded looking into his eyes. Edward took his had and kissed it. 

"I have to protect you now" he replied. "I need to go and throw Barbara off our scent. If she finds out about us I don't want to think about what could happen." He released Oswald's hand leaning in to kiss him on the lips, letting his tongue slip inside Oswald's mouth amazed at how naturally the action came now. When they broke apart he looked into Oswald's eyes. "I _won't_ let anything happen to you." Oswald hugged him, but then broke away from him a stern look on his face.

"I don't wan't you to go" he said blatantly. "The city is in disarray and there may risk of infection. Besides I need you here with me to help with preparations. Time is of the essence and I want to protect you just as much as you want to protect me." 

Edward considered Oswald's words. Perhaps he should stay. Barbara may be too busy dealing with the fallout of the virus to pay him any concern. He could wait for the trouble to die down before reappearing at the Sirens. Simply tell Barbara he had been lying low searching for Penguin waiting for the virus to run its course. Oswald was right, he _had_ promised him last night that he wanted to assist in Oswald's reinstatement as head of the Underworld. He was torn, stay at Oswald's side and put him in danger or leave and place himself in the precarious situation. The choice seemed simple however the decision was about to be made for him. There came a knock at the doorway to the lounge.

"Mr Kaubleput, a strange car has pulled up outside. Three people are coming towards the house." 

"What kind of car?" Edward asked quickly.

"Bentley" she responded. 

"Barbara!" Edward said, his mind beginning to race. He heard a banging at the door. They were clearly attempting to let themselves in. Oswald gestured for Olga to hide and attempted to pull Edward by the sleeve towards an exit. Edward knew it was too late to run. He had to think of something else.  
"Point your gun at Penguin!" Nygma said in a rushed voice.

"W-what?" Responded Edward trying to reach the same conclusion Nygma already had.

"Don't question, just listen to me and do it! _Now!_ " Nygma yelled nervously looking at Edward. Edward obeyed and gave Oswald a forceful shove away from him and drew his gun pointing it at Oswald's head. 

"What are you doin-" Oswald began but Edward quickly put a finger to his lips and hushed him. 

"RIDDLEEEEEEER!" came Barbara's voice echoing through the house as she turned into the room. Barbara, Tabitha and Butch entered the living room with their guns raised at the two men. Ivy entered through another doorway to see what the commotion was all about. She gasped when she saw Edward pointing his gun at Oswald. Tabitha instantly turned her gun or Ivy. 

"Well what do you know, the stray cat was right. You are alive." Barbara said victoriously looking at Oswald. "I didn't believe her at first but you never can tell with you. And of course I knew you would be here if he was" she said looking at Edward. "Still haven't killed him? Answers Riddler, NOW! Where have you been?!" 

"Get out of my house Barbara!" Oswald demanded. "And take your gun off of her!" he said fiercely at Tabitha gesturing towards Ivy. Tabitha did not comply.

"No need to be so touchy Ozzy. I just want to know why my so called associate has been hiding from me. Deceit seems to be a trend among my so called _friends_ lately." She shot Tabitha a dirty look.

"Well, as you can see The Riddler and I are busy with a matter that doesn't concern you, so you can all leave." Oswald snapped, fearless even though he had several guns pointed at him.

"Leave Barbara, I know what I'm doing." Edward said aggressively. "I have him right where I want him." Ivy clapped her hands over her mouth upon hearing this.

"HA!" responded Oswald, adopting a smirk on his face. "You wouldn't know what to do with me if I was strapped down in your own bed Edward Nygma!". Edward had to focus every once of concentration he had not to blush or react to Oswald's statement. Even at a time like this he had the audacity to flirt with him. He could sense in Oswald's expression that he was purposefully trying to fluster him. A new game that Edward was going to have to get used to. 

"Oh, we'll leave Penguin, but he's coming with us" Barbara said reassuringly looking at Edward. "No doubt you've seen the news. The Court has handed us the perfect opportunity. The city is in disarray what better time to consolidate power!" She was right, just as Oswald had been. This was the perfect opportunity for the King Pins of the underworld to better their positions and now it was a race, Barbara versus Penguin.

"No" Ed replied simply. Fighting the urge to go out and play among the chaos of the city. He felt the bright green suit against his skin almost vibrating with excitement. He had been locked up in a cage and then inside the mansion for several days now. He wanted to get out and stretch his legs. Barbara was right, this was the perfect time to scheme and make moves but obviously he knew he couldn't leave Oswald to help her. It was Oswald who he would be making plans for. 

"So this is the thanks I get, after I have done everything I could to help you discover the identity of The Court. Offering you my club and services when ever you need, but what do I get in return when I need to take advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime? Nothing!"

 

"Barbara, I have no interest in-" Edward began.

"Ruling Gotham, I know." She moved close to Ed so they were only inches apart and put her hand on his arm slowly lowering it so he was no longer pointing the gun at Oswald. She reached up and stroked his face staring him in the eyes. "Baby, listen, all I ask is that you use this beautiful big brain of yours to help me finally get this city under my thumb." Edward stared at her blankly. "Its pure chaos out there. Don't you want to see the city burning? I know you'd like that. Come with me and take what should be ours. The little bird can wait" she shot Oswald a boastful look. Edward breathed heavily, Barbara was right he _so_ wanted to see the city in its decaying state. He would get to see none of the action if he remained here at the mansion cooped up behind a desk under the caring, but watchful, eye of Oswald who would mostly likely want to keep him out of harms way. He looked back at Oswald who had an angry yet concerned look on his face. It was true he did not want to leave Oswald after everything that had happened but Barbara had all the resources required to act _now_ that Oswald did not. The temptation was _infuriating_ but at the same time perhaps this could work to his advantage. If he went with them he would be calling the shots, he would know exactly what Barbara's position was and he could use that to set up a better opportunity for Oswald. Perhaps was the best thing he could do to contribute to the Penguin's cause.

"Its too risky! We can't go with them!" Nygma said in a nervous voice appearing at his side. 

"You know what" Barbara said clearly getting annoyed. "I'll make this easy for you. Come and help me" she moved over to Oswald, gun drawn, "or I'll kill him myself right now." She pointed her gun at Oswald's head. Oswald remained composed, unflinching in response to Barbara's threat.

"We have to go with them..." Nygma said defeated.

"I'll give you one day" Edward said staring straight ahead not daring to look at Oswald. He turned and started walking towards the door tucking his gun back into his belt. He guiltily felt somewhat relieved that Barbara had gone to this extreme to force a decision out of him. She had provided him with the perfect excuse to leave. He felt horrible for leaving Oswald of course, but he would do his best to make the most of this situation. 

"Riddler..." he heard Oswald say quietly but Edward dared not look at him in case Barbara or Butch picked up on any kind of chemistry between them. He may be overcome by his guilt if he had to look Oswald in the face knowing he was leaving him. 

"Sorry Penguin, you've been ditched. Guess you're not as fun as us. Stay safe" Barbara laughed following Nygma out of the room. 

"We're not going to kill him?" Butch asked indicating Penguin.

"No, leave him. He's all washed up" Barbara said with one last glance back at the Penguin and then Ivy. "Let The Riddler deal with him later." Edward did not stop or look back as he made his way out of the mansion. He climbed into the back of the car parked in the drive way, the others following in behind him. "So", asked Barbara placing her hand on Edward's leg and leaning in close to his face. "What do we do first?" 

The Riddler grinned staring out of the window, his mind already formulating the plan as he looked out over the burning Gotham.

****

Oswald awoke to Edward spooning him from behind, he moaned approvingly and pushed himself against Edward as close as he could. He drifted in and out of sleep a wave of happiness washing over him every time he awakened to feel Edward's arms around him. He was startled awake properly by a knock on his bedroom door. Quick as a flash Edward was already up and moving across the room with something in his hand held aggressively. Whoever it was at the door he felt relieved to have Edward there so ready to protect him. It was Olga's voice that greeted his ears. 

"Mr Kapelput, are you in there?" she asked innocently. "I return like you ask, bring breakfast and newspaper for you." He let out a sigh.

"I'll be down in a minute when I'm proper" He called out. "Mr Nygma is in the house too, please prepare something for him as well." 

"There is someone else here too. Young girl. I find her in the driveway when I arrive walking up to house." Oswald knew straight away that is was Ivy but he wanted to confirm nevertheless.

"Red Hair?" he asked.

"Da" replied Olga. Edward looked over at him inquisitively. Well he knew he wouldn't be able to postpone their meeting indefinably, he just hadn't expected it to come quite so soon. He gestured to Edward to signify it was fine.

"Make her feel welcome please, I'll be down as soon as I can."He got up out of bed realizing his day was about to become a lot more busy then he had anticipated. Before he could look around for something to wear he was greeted by Edward presenting him with a dressing gown. He reached up and kissed Edward in thanks and then took a moment to get a full look at Edward standing completely naked in front of him. He could not hide his smug smile as he turned to walk to the bathroom. If this was what he could expect of mornings from now on he could get used to it, _extremely_ used to it. He closed the door to the bathroom behind him. He liked the idea of Edward joining him for a shower but with Olga and Ivy in the house that would have to wait. He showered solo, did his hair and dressed as quick as possible. He chose a suit of deep purple that he knew Edward would enjoy seeing him in and made his way downstairs. As he walked down the hallway about to reach the stair case he heard Ivy scream and then loudly call his name. He hurried to discover what was the cause of her distress only to find her and Edward standing on the bottom landing together. The moment she saw Oswald she ran up the stairs to his side. She offered her hand to assist him down the stairs which he happily took. Normally he didn't like to accept help but it was a sweet gesture so he obliged her. As they reached the bottom he noticed a slight look of annoyance on Edward's face. So this was how it was going to be between Ivy and Edward.

"You two not playing nice already? Well I'm not in the mood for mediating so behave during breakfast, both of you!" Oswald said shaking his head. His assumption that Edward may be jealous of Ivy's presence was clearly accurate. He knew he should sooth Edward's concern but at the same time he imagined how wild Edward would become for his attention if Ivy was drawing this much of it away from him. They moved into the dining room, Oswald was glad to once again be able to eat Olga's home cooking. As he made his way along the table, a spread of breakfast goods already out he noticed that Olga had placed two settings to his right instead of one on each side. Ivy instantly took the one closest to his chair leaving the furthest one for Edward.  
"Penguin," Ivy whispered leaning across the corner of the table. "I need to tell you-" but whatever it was she was about to say Oswald did not hear as he was distracted by Edward entering the room. He took joy noting the slight frown on Edward's face as he sat at the furthest setting. Oswald introduced his two companions to one another and then began to eat his omelette Olga had prepared for him. He took a moment to appreciate at the two companions who sat at the table with him. His new army was off to a fantastic start.

"Nice suit" Ivy said directing the comment at Edward. It was a striking green one that Oswald realized Edward had only taken to wearing after his transformation into The Riddler so he was yet to see him in it first hand. 

"Yes, Edward what is with the suit? he asked inquisitively suspecting there was a reason Edward had selected that suit in particular. He would get to the bottom of this in a moment but he decided to take the time to reassure Edward he was still thinking about him regardless of Ivy's presence. "A bit much for around the house. I'd rather see you in something like earlier this morning" he said smoothly. A smug grin appearing on his face as Edward choked on the orange juice he was drinking. Olga entered the room with a rack of toast for them placing it on the table just in time to distract them while Edward continued to splutter. 

"I.. I have to go out" Edward said after recovering. Olga stopped and turned to him. 

"You can't go out there" she said firmly looking at Edward and then looking at Oswald. "Is not safe. I returned to job because it is safer out here than in city". Oswald narrowed his eyes not quite understanding this line of logic.

"Well when has Gotham ever been safe place" he said with a laugh.

"You have not seen news?" Olga asked looking at each of them in turn a look of concern on her face. They all shook their heads. Seizing the rolled up newspaper Edward began to read aloud about the outbreak of the Tetch virus in Gotham. Both he and Edward knew instantly it was the attack The Court had planned. After finishing reading the story to the others Edward disappeared behind the newspaper continuing to read. Oswald knew he was searching for any other intimate details he could. He loved watching Edward's brain working away behind his eyes. 

"Good thing we're out here together then, right Pengy" Ivy said as she stuffed her mouth with toast. Oswald saw Ed twitch at the sound of the nickname and remembered he had not finished questioning him about the suit.

"You said you had to go somewhere Ed, may I ask where?" He didn't want to sound controlling or concerned so he decided to appeal to something he knew Edward would enjoy. "Given the circumstances perhaps it would be better to stay in. This kind of chaos can be good for business. Perhaps we should take the opportunity presented to plan some moves." Ivy began clapping her hands in excitement as he spoke. Oswald focused his attention on her instead of Edward.

"Yes! Penguin plans are the best plans" she said excitedly. 

"Well they are pretty good I suppose," he said trying to sound modest. Edward was still hiding behind his newspaper so he attempted to once again draw him into the conversation. "But if you want to see real plan come to fruition then it is the man sitting to your right who is the one you want on your side" he stated. "I should know, I was on the receiving end of a proficient one." He hoped this may coax Edward out finally.

"I have to go the Sirens" Edward stated flatly placing the newspaper down and getting up and moving out of the room not looking back.

"Wait, Edward!" Oswald called worried he had gone too far regarding the mention of the dock. He had to get used to the idea of Edward now being his, partner, he supposed. He wasn't sure what to call it yet. He should have insisted Ivy move and allow Edward to sit next to him. He caught up to Edward in the living room who was pulling a gun out of a draw and tucking it into his belt. He moved to him and cupped Edward's cheek in the palm of his hand moving his head to look at him in the eyes. "What is this about?" he asked sensitive to the fact that he had probably taken his attempts to make Edward fight for his attention a little too far. Edward gently took his hand and kissed it, a good sign, at least he knew Edward wasn't that annoyed at him.

"I have to protect you now" Edward stated. It was not the response Oswald had been expecting. "I need to go and throw Barbara off our scent. If she finds out about us I don't want to think about what could happen." Edward had a pained expression on his face. Oswald suddenly felt a mix of emotions realizing that it was worry driving Edward's emotions. Edward lent down and kissed him slipping his tongue inside his mouth clearly unfazed by the idea of Olga or Ivy catching them. Edward pulled away from their kiss. "I _won't_ let anything happen to you" he stated fiercely looking into Oswald's eyes. Oswald felt terrible that Edward was feeling such an over bearing level of responsibility for him. He put his arms around him, pulling them close together but then braking away.

"I don't wan't you to go" he said seriously. "The city is in disarray and there may risk of infection." The last thing he wanted now was for Edward to be taken from him after everything was finally going right for them. His next statement was driven by a selfishness he did not want to admit to but knew was essential. "Besides I need you here with me to help with preparations." It sounded terrible the second it came out of his mouth. "Time is of the essence and I want to protect you just as much as you want to protect me" he added trying to make himself feel better. He knew he had to avoid the temptation to _use_ Edward now that their relationship was more then just employer and employee. They were interrupted by Olga knocking on the entrance to the room. She informed them a car had pulled up and three people where making their way into the house. Edward had easily surmised that it was Barbara and crew. Oswald gestured for Olga to hide, not wanting her to get caught in any cross fire. Barbara would not hesitate killing innocents to send a message. Then without warning Edward had drawn his gun and shoved Oswald away from him hard and pointed the pistol at his head.

"Edward, what are you doin-" he began shocked a wave of fear rushing over him that perhaps he had been wrong after all, this had been a trap and Edward's back up had finally arrived. His fear was quickly extinguished however with Edward putting his finger to his lips to signify that Oswald should be quiet. Thank god, it was just a move to keep up appearances in front of Barbara. 

"RIDDLEEEEEEER!" came Barbara's voice echoing through the house. Barbara, Tabitha and Butch entered the living room with their guns raised at the two men. Ivy entered through another doorway to see what the commotion was all about. She gasped when she saw Edward pointing his gun at Oswald. Anger swelled in Oswald as he saw Tabitha move her gun to point it at the Ivy. 

"Well what do you know, the stray cat was right. You are alive." Barbara said victoriously looking at Oswald. "I didn't believe her at first but you never can tell with you. And of course I knew you would be here if he was" she said looking at Edward. "Still haven't killed him? Answers Riddler, NOW! Where have you been?!" Oswald could feel himself getting angry. Not only had the barged into his house but they were also threatening a young innocent girl. Don Maroni, Don Falcone, even Fish, they all had faults but they lived by codes but Barbara Kean wouldn't even be allowed to sit at the table with Don Falcone. Yet here he was being forced to do battle with her.  
"Get out of my house Barbara!" Oswald demanded. "And take your gun off of her!" he said fiercely at Tabitha gesturing towards Ivy. He had experienced countless firearms being pointed at him but it was not something he wanted for Ivy. Tabitha ignored him. 

"No need to be so touchy Ozzy. I just want to know why my so called associate has been hiding from me. Deceit seems to be a trend among my so called _friends_ lately." She shot Tabitha a dirty look. Oswald took note of the exchange, a useful piece of information perhaps. He decided it was time to take control of the situation and attempt to talk his and Edward's way out of this. After all she didn't know that Edward was on his side now and advantage he could unknowingly play against her. 

"Well, as you can see The Riddler and I are busy with a matter that doesn't concern you, so you can all leave" he said with the appropriate amount of of superiority. 

"Leave Barbara, I know what I'm doing." Edward said aggressively. "I have him right where I want him." Taking this lead from Edward, Oswald knew it would suit them best to play along. Feeling overly confident in his position knowing that Edward was on his side he decided to have some fun.

"HA!" he said as sarcastically as he could manage, adopting a smirk on his face. "You wouldn't know what to do with me if I was strapped down in your own bed Edward Nygma!" It had been a risky thing to say if Edward was unable to control his reaction but Oswald had faith in him. He wondered how many of these jokes he could get away with before Edward broke however he held his composure well this time.

"Oh, we'll leave but he's coming with us" Barbara said looking straight at Edward. "No doubt you've seen the news. The Court has handed us the perfect opportunity. The city is in disarray what better time to consolidate power!" Oswald frowned at the fact that Barbara's plan for gaining more power was basically the same as his and of all things it involved Edward. Oswald had felt perfectly capable of making a move without Edward's help it coming only as a welcome addition but Barbara appeared to be relying on it. He was even more annoyed now than before.

"No" Ed replied simply. Oswald felt relieved with how quick Edward was to respond.

"So this is the thanks I get, after I have done everything I could to help you discover the identity of The Court. Offering you my club and services when ever you need, but what do I get in return to take advantage of an opportunity of a lifetime, nothing!"

"Barbara, I have no interest in-" Edward began.

"Ruling Gotham, I know." She was moving close to Edward. She lowered his hand down so Oswald no longer had Edward's gun on him however Butch remained steadily on him.

Barbara reached up and started stroking Edward's face in an intimate manner. Oswald instantly became filled with jealousy at the sight of someone else touching Ed in that manner. "Baby, listen," she began. Oswald wanted to _explode_. Not only was she trying to use Edward to further her position but she would stoop low enough to attempt seduction! If only she knew how little this particular tactic was not going to work. It looked heavily one sided as Edward stood as still as a statue while Barbara touched him. Oswald took comfort in that.

"Its pure chaos out there." Barbara said still looking into Edward's eyes. "Don't you want to see the city burning? I know you'd like that." This was a dirty tactic too Oswald thought to himself. Appealing to Edward's love of spectacle and excitement was a brilliant idea. Oswald prayed that his and Edward's new found companionship would be enough to overwrite this desire but Oswald could see a wild look growing in Edward's eyes clearly he was deep in thought. Surely he couldn't be considering leaving him for Barbara when he had already promised they would work together. Oswald suddenly became filled for sadness for Edward. Both he and Barbara wanted Edward for the express purpose of capitalizing on the chaos in Gotham through the use of his intellect. He wanted Edward by his side because Edward wanted to be there, not because he felt compelled to be. Oswald hoped that Edward knew that and not believed he wanted him for the same shallow reason as Barbara. He made a note to apologize at the next available opportunity and make his intentions clear. He realized that Edward had still not answered Barbara and she was clearly becoming irritated at the lack of response.

"You know what" Barbara said finally having enough of the silence. "I'll make this easy for you. Come and help me" Oswald took a step back as she approached him gun raised "or I'll kill him myself right now." For Edward's and Ivy sake he remained fearless, expression unchanging against the threat.  
"I'll give you one day" Edward finally said. Oswald's eyes went wide as he watched Edward begin to stride out of the room not even bothering to look back at him.  
"Edward..." he let escape his lips as he watched in horror at Edward exiting the room not even bothering to spare him a glance. He was in no doubt doing this to protect him but it didn't make his departure hurt any less. 

"Sorry Penguin, you've been ditched. Guess your not as fun as us. Stay safe" Barbara laughed, backing out of the room giving him a wink. 

"We're not going to kill him?" Butch asked his gun still on Oswald. Oswald let out a small laugh, pleased that Butch once again had to witness him escaping death.

"No, leave him. He's all washed up" Barbara said. She looked back at both Oswald and Ivy. "Let The Riddler deal with him later." Oswald began grinning satisfied by the knowledge that she had no idea what she was getting into letting Edward into her company now that he was aligned with him. He hoped Edward had a plan and was confident he was not simply choosing her over him. A small amount of guilt also reminded him that no matter what Edward was up too he would remain safe above everything else. As they all trailed out of the house Oswald stood in silence looking at the last place he had seen Edward. It hit him that they weren't going to be spending anymore time together for who know how long. Edward had only promised a day but that could change so easily. He felt a conflict rush of emotions. Annoyance, anger, sadness and guilt for the way Edward was being treated as a means to both his and Barbara's end. He felt most upset however that Edward had not even spared him a glance as he left. If by some happenstance they did not see each other again then the last memory he would have of Edward was him pointing a gun at him, _again_. He was not going to let that happen and he was not going to let Barbara be the one to capitalize on this set of circumstances. He felt the rage building inside him, starting to take over. He needed to get it out of his system in the only way he knew how. He directed his anger at an end table, kicking it over.

"Oswald it's okay, calm down!" Ivy said running over and grabbing him in an attempt to keep him still. In an effort to not hurt her by struggling he resigned to let her calm him down. Olga entered the room too clearly waiting for any instruction Oswald wanted to give her. It was Ivy who gave the instruction instead. She let go of Oswald and ran to a tattered bag that was on one of the sofas. Pulling out a small bag of something she handed it to Olga. "Here, brew this into some tea for him. It will calm him down" she stated sounding concerned yet confident. Olga nodded and left them. "It's good he's gone" Ivy stated moving to Oswald again. "You can't trust him Penguin."

"I trust him more then anyone else in Gotham" he snapped. "No offence" he added realizing his tone was harsh but he couldn't help it given the circumstances.

"I just saw him point a gun at you" she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"A ruse" Oswald responded. "To trick Barbara and the others into thinking we aren't in league together."

"But earlier on the stairs I heard him talking to himself abou-" Ivy began.

"Yes, yes he does that sometimes when he thinks no one is listening" Oswald said cutting her off. "You get used to it". 

"But-" Ivy began.

"Ivy, please! I don't have time to talk about this. I need to figure out what to do next." 

"Fine!" snapped Ivy crossing her arms and sitting in a lounge chair. "Boys are stupid" she mumbled. Great, thought Oswald now she was annoyed at him on top of everything else. Oswald began to pace the room. No army, no plan, no Edward. He was at a loss as to what to do next. He had to focus on what he did have. He continued pacing the room with Ivy watching him do so. Everything they had planned yesterday would be useless with the release of the virus in the city. Gang members would be unreachable either in hiding or taking advantage of the anarchy to loot and deal in other illegal activities. If only he knew what Barbara's play would be so that he could cut her off. She had Edward though and there was no way Oswald would be able to catch up with him mentally or physically with his head start. Olga eventually entered with the tea for Oswald who took it and furiously drank the whole cup in one mouthful. It burnt his throat as it went down. Ivy held out her hand to Olga who looked down it and raised her eyebrow.

"What?" she asked looking at the expectant girl. 

"The leftover tea leaves? How much did you brew of that stuff" Ivy asked nervously clasping her hands together a concerned look appearing on her face.  
"All of it" Olga said unapologetic. "You did not say otherwise."

"Oops" Ivy said biting her lip and looking at Oswald.

"No" Oswald began moving towards Ivy and seizing her, "not _oops_! Ivy what is _oops_ '?" His eyelids were starting to feel heavy and he began to stagger.

"Well you were only supposed to take a small amount. Not all of it" she said with a worried voice. Oswald could barely hold himself up now.

"I'm sorry!" Ivy whined. The last thing Oswald saw was Ivy and Olga staring down at him as he hit the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to split these two up so soon after they were just figuring everything out, hopefully it won't be too long before they are reunited. The formula will continue showing events from both perspectives just not of the same events (obviously) until the cross paths again. 
> 
> Thanks once again for all the positive comments, I love reading them!


	5. I am alive without breath and cold as death. I am never thirsty but always drinking.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward delivers on his promise to help consolidate power for Barbara but believes he has lost something valuable along the way. Oswald is reunited with old enemies and friends as his own bid for power takes unexpected turns.

It was as he expected, the city was in complete chaos and the Riddler was loving every moment of it. He and Nygma stood staring out over it all from the Sirens giant rear window, the perfect viewing spot for the anarchy unfolding on the streets. As promised he was here to assist Barbara in he attempt to consolidate as much power as possible during this unstable time. His first act had been to listen in to GCPD scanners to learn any information regarding the virus that the papers had omitted. It wasn't long before he received the vital piece of information he needed, Harvey Bullock had put out an order for the arrest of Hugo Strange who had managed to escape GCPD custody. If Harvey wanted Strange then Edward knew that was what he wanted too and instructed Barbara to put all her man power into locating him. It had been Strange who had instructed Edward to question the Wayne boy and Lucius Fox about their knowledge of the mysterious powers of Gotham so he connected the dots and arrived at the conclusion that Strange must have helped them in the creation of the virus, which meant Strange was the only person with the knowledge of an antidote, which the city would give anything for. Now he stood waiting, taking in the glory of it all. 

"As the flames of hedonism licked the very foundation of its society Nero played and sang the destruction of Troy" he said poetically, turning to Nygma. "I will say this about the Court of owls. They've got style!" 

"Agreed," Nygma responded, hands and nose pressed up against the glass as he too looked out of the events unfolding in the street below. "A style that we should take a lead from," Nygma said turning to Edward grinning. 

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked frowning.

"Copying a plan made by the oaf Harvey Bullock? We both know you can do better then that," Nygma said encouragingly. Edward had to admit that following Harvey's lead had not been his favorite move but it was the only one he had and Barbara had wanted results fast. What had he not considered that his double was referring to? "Need some help?" Nygma asked, a look of excitement that only came when a riddle was on its way. "I go in dry and come out wet, yet get stronger the longer I am in" he said grinning. Edward new the answer instantly , _teabag_ , but he wasn't sure what Nygma meant by it but before he could confer some more with his double their conversation was interrupted as Barbara made her way over placing her arm on Edward's shoulder and leaning on him to survey the carnage.  
"Imagine how much the city will pay for Strange," Barbara said a look of lust in her eyes. "We could ask for anything and it's all thanks to you" she said running her fingertips along his arm. He wanted to brush her off but he knew antagonizing her in any way would be counter productive, for now he would tolerate whatever it was she hoped to achieve from these intimate touches. He hoped Oswald had not been too upset by Barbara being so hands on with him at the house. He made a point to reassure Oswald it was nothing the next time they were together. Then suddenly it hit him, the meaning behind teabags. 

"I can do better than Strange" he said excitedly breaking away from Barbara's grasp and running to his briefcase that was resting against the bar. Searching through its contents and pulling out the desired document from a folder he began to fill it out with adept speed. During his time as Chief of Staff he had squirreled away a stack of blank GCPD paper work for every occasion that may arise. Barbara, Butch and Tabitha gathered around him eager to see what it was that had gotten him so excited. 

"Better than Strange?" asked Barbara. "Baby, Strange is being hunted by the entire GCPD and us right now. I'd say he's Gotham's most desired." 

"True, but currently he is MIA and if we can't find him then he is useless" Edward responded as his pen flashed across the page. "Besides, if the GCPD manage to find an antidote Strange stashed away somewhere then they won't even need him and he'll be worthless to us."

"So why go after Strange at all?" Butch asked irritated. "Should I call everyone off the hunt?"

"No, he is a good backup if we get lucky" Edward responded shortly.

"So who are we after now?" Tabitha asked clearly annoyed at Edward's lack of explanation. Edward found himself becoming annoyed at the lack of vision held by his associates. He decided to have one last moment of fun before putting them out of their misery.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" he asked a grin appearing on his face as he indulged himself with another riddle. Butch let out an audible sigh of annoyance and Tabitha threw her hands up and stormed away to pour herself a drink behind the bar. Knowing that none of them would begin attempting to answer Edward turned to Barbara. "Here is new target" he slid the Arkham transfer papers across the bar to her.  
"Tetch?" Barbara asked raising an eyebrow. Edward snatched the form back from her and added the finishing touch, judge Bam Bam's perfectly forged signature. 

"I doubt Strange would have made enough antidote to cure this many infected so they'll need more of the blood, which makes Tetch much more valuable than Strange." A wild, approving look appeared on Barbara's face and Butch shook his head clearly unable to believe that Edward had once again managed to pull out an impressive plan. 

"Get some of the officers on our payroll to get these forms to Arkham now!" Barbara ordered several of her men who we're guarding the door. "You two," she directed at Butch and Tabitha, "Get a car ready, we've got a van to intercept". They all began preparing with haste as another one of Barbara's underlings entered. "What?" she snapped.

"We found Strange, he was trying to board a train out of the city" the man said attempting to stay fearless in the face of Barbara. 

"And?" she asked looking around expectantly. "Where is he?"

"We were about to grab him but-" he started.

"But what!?" Barbara was growing angrier.

"Someone else beat us to it" he began but was clearly aware that what he had to say next would anger her further. "Fish Mooney."

"FISH!?" Barbara screamed. Interesting, Edward thought, he had to admit the return of Fish was not something he had considered at all.

"Well did you follow her? See where she took him?" Barbara demanded.

"Got someone tailing them now" the man said clearly relieved he had gotten this aspect right. "Looks like they're headed out to greater Gotham last we heard."'

"Greater Gotham? Why would she be taking him out there?" Tabitha asked clearly confused.

"She's taking him to Oswald's!" Nygma said before anyone else in the room had realized and Edward nodded in agreement. _Perfect_. If he could get Tetch and Oswald had Strange then together they would have the pair. Then if he could sneak Tetch away from Barbara and get him to Oswald's all that would be in their way was the unknown factor of Fish. He wished he had taken time to get a phone number for Oswald as he knew Barbara would watch Tetch like a hawk but if he could get her out of the way he knew it would be easy to deal with Tabitha and Butch. 

"Okay, whatever, keep watching them. We have more important things to worry about now than Fish Mooney" Barbara said dismissing the man. Edward looked over a map of Gotham, he considered all the possible routes the driver could take on his way from Arkham to to the GCPD station and picked the one he believed most probable. He drew an 'X' on the map and handed it to Tabitha.

"You need to set up a roadblock here" he said pointedly. She responded with a compliant nod, he had to give it to her, as much as they didn't get along she was a woman of action when needed. "Then you," he began turning to Butch, "can do what you do best. Crack skulls." Butch glared at him taking several steps closer.

"I know one skull I'd like to crack" Butch said threateningly into Edward's face.

"Butch, stop it!" Barbara said annoyed. "If Riddler's plan works we'll be in a position to get _whatever_ we ask for. Until then play nice!"

 

After an hour or so of preparations and confirmation that the transfer paper work had been accepted by Arkham Asylum without a hitch, they headed out. They took two cars, Tabitha and Butch in the decoy one that would block the transfer van's path and Edward in Barbara in her Bentley, With Edward in the driver's seat they headed to the location he had predicted on the on the map would be the best place for the hijack to happen and waited. Barbara and Edward remained in their car watching as the other two got the roadblock in place. 

"See," Barbara said lounging in the back seat of the car, "isn't this much more fun than playing cat and mouse with that little Penguin?" 

"Yes" Edward lied. He was stilled worried about Oswald and whether while he sat here concerning himself with Tetch, Oswald was at the mercy of Fish. He prayed he would not return to the mansion to find Oswald the victim of revenge. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it and tried to focus on the job at hand. At the first hint that Oswald was in trouble he would have to abandon Barbara and return to Oswald's side. He looked at his watch and then into the rear vision mirror just as the Arkham pulled into the street. "Right on schedule," Edward said not expecting anything else. Barbara leaned forward on the back of his seat.

"I never doubted you for a second" she said smoothly into his ear. They watched as the driver stopped in front of their road block only to be gunned down by Tabitha. Butch moved out from his hiding place in a nearby ally and pried the doors of the van open. There was no guard inside with the prisoner, some extra cash in the warden's hand had seen to that. Edward and Barbara stepped out of the car to meet Butch as he dragged the grinning Tetch towards them.

"Are you my saviors?" asked Tetch in a hopeful voice. "Are you the ones to set me free?" He was clearly insane, Edward thought, you could just tell by looking at the man that something about him was unhinged and the newspaper hat he was wearing was downright ridiculous. How could anyone fear someone who got around in a hat like that.

"Not exactly," Barbara replied shorty, placing her hand on Edward's shoulder again she looked at him admiringly. "Let's make Gotham beg!" She climbed back into the car and Edward followed grinning at himself once again pleased at his own success, now all that he needed was to hear news of Oswald.

 

Once at the Sirens Tetch was bound, gagged and thrown into a spare storage room in the kitchen. Butch and Tabitha had warned of Tetch's compulsion to rhythm his sentence's and as Butch dragged Tetch to his temporary holding cell he heard him whispering to Tabitha.

"We already have to suffer through riddles, I am not doing rhythms as well". Edward decided to ignore it, Butch would one day find himself on the receiving end of the Riddler's fury. Edward once again moved to the window to stare out of it, he did not have to engage with the others if he stood here simply staring out. It allowed him to think clearly, uninterrupted by Butch and Tabitha's constant conspiring that they thought no one was paying attention to and Barbara's constant bid for Edward's attention that he was growing tired of giving. He closed his eyes and thought of this morning and how satisfying it would be to return to Oswald's bed tonight and sleep soundly in his arms, the perfect end to a day of work. He knew however that he was most likely going to end up sleeping here in a spare room above the Sirens and tomorrow he would be free to leave, his promised one day being over.

"Boss," came the voice of one of Barbara's goons as he entered the club,"I got news about Fish." Edward turned his head to look over his shoulder anxious to not miss any part of the report but still keeping a level of cool. "We tracked them back to The Penguin's place, she took Strange inside, the ice man and fire woman were with her. A while afterwards they came out of the house dragging the Penguin's body with them..." Edward's heart sank, he turned away so that none of the others could see his face. 

"Oswald..." Nygma mumbled next to him sinking down to the floor with his back against the window, "no..." he placed his head in his hands, his fingers entangling in his hair. In response to Nygma's sadness Edward was letting himself be filled with rage, his breath beginning to shorten, he would not be as lenient on Fish as Oswald had been. He would make it as slow and painful for her as humanly possible. His fingernails dug into his skin as he clenched his hand into a fist attempting to stop himself from being engulfed by rage. He could not afford the extra trouble of coming apart now in front of everyone.

"Hear that Riddler! You missed your chance," Barbara called from the bar. "Then what? Where did they go after that?" 

"A slaughterhouse on the east side, called for some back up and decided to go in after them. Took out a couple of Fish's men who were guarding the door and waited. They came out of the back rooms and we started to engage the freaks but we got interrupted."

"What? By who!?" Barbara demanded. "Who else knew about Fish and Strange?". 

"Bullock and Gordon. Seem's Gotham's finest were right on their tail the whole time. Gordon went crazy, he murdered several of our men from behind, then he killed Fish."

The words, hung in the air. Fish was dead at the hands of James Gordon, Edward had missed opportunity for revenge and unable to contain himseld any longer he stormed out of the room as quick as he could unable or wanting to hear anymore. He found an unoccupied sleeping quarter and locked himself inside. He wanted to destroy something, wrap it in his hands and squeeze until there was nothing left. Pacing uncontrollably up and down the room he was begging to find it hard to breath, taking shallow breaths as he attempted to remain in control. Even Nygma was too dejected to offer any useful advice or insight, simply sitting on the edge of the bed staring blankly into space. Edward's anger turned inwards.

" _Idiot!_ " he yelled at himself. Why did he have to be so selfish as to leave Oswald alone, simply because he wanted to have some fun and see the city, he should have stayed by his side, protected him for anything that tried to harm him. Now he would never see Oswald again, never feel his touch or hear his proud loving voice. Edward was overwhelmed with so many different feelings and he didn't know how to let them out so he let himself fall onto the bed, tears of anger and rage streaming down his face. He closed his eyes attempting to block out everything he could unable to find an answer for his emotions. Exhaustion took over and he lay there weeping uncontrollably for what felt like hours until he finally fell asleep.

 

**** 

 

Oswald's head was swimming, he felt heavy as he tried to pull himself up from the bed he was lying in. He looked around and found Edward lying next to him staring down with a loving smile. 

"Good morning sleepyhead" Edward said, rolling on top of him beginning to caress and kiss Oswald as he lay there in a state of elation. He reached out and stroked Edward's face still unable to comprehend how he had been so lucky to have Edward here in bed with him. Edward's kisses became wilder and wilder as he began to move further and further down Oswald's body. Edward's mouth reached his pelvis and Oswald felt a rush of arousal. 

"Oh god, Edward Nygma, I love you," the words escaping from his mouth as he ran his hands through Edward's hair. Edward stopped kissing him and sat up on his knees perching over Oswald looking down at him, he began to laugh. "W-why are you laughing?" Oswald said concerned but as Edward continued to laugh Oswald's concern turned to anger. "You find my affection funny? Get off of me!" He attempted to push Edward off of him but he found he wouldn't budge. Edward leaned down and stared into his eyes.  
"Yes" he hissed, "I find it even funnier that you think I would _ever_ love you back. I told you before, I will _never_ love you Oswald." Edward's hand shot out to and grabbed Oswald's neck and began to tighten, Edward's face filled with delight as he continued to squeeze the life out of the smaller man. Oswald attempted to pull Edward's hands away but it was impossible, Edward's grip was too strong. "You were right about me," Edward sneered at him, "I knew you would fall for me and that this moment would be all the more sweeter knowing that you thought even for a second that we could be happy together." Oswald felt the life drain out of him and his eyes roll back into his head as the Riddler's laugh surrounded him. Now they were standing on the dock, surrounded by nothing but the sound of the water and the still air. Edward was standing before him, his back out towards the water, this time it was Oswald who held the gun. "Please Oswald, you can't do this" Edward pleaded, he reached out to Oswald but he found himself smacking Edward's hand away in a mirror movement to what had happened to him last time they were at the dock together. He stared up at Edward filled with anger from the scene that had just transpired before him. He felt the gun in his hand, heavy and waiting to be used, he could so easy shoot just as Edward had done that day. "Please Oswald, its not a trick, I really do l-" Edward began but Oswald couldn't bring himself to hear the word. He pulled the trigger and Edward staggered back grabbing his stomach as blood began to pour out over his hands dripping down to the ground. Edward looked into his eyes, Oswald saw the innocent remorseful eyes of Edward Nygma staring into him, his face filled with shock at the reality Oswald had shot him. His shocked expression turned to amusement and he began to step backwards towards the edge of the dock. Oswald stared at him in silent horror as The Riddler's shiny green suit turned to a simple shirt and tie with a green sweater. Edward Nygma took more more step backwards, allowing himself to fall into the dark still water. Oswald ran to the edge of the dock and watched as Edward Nygma disappeared below the surface a smile on his face as he vanished in the murky depths. Oswald awoke suddenly, his breathing shallow and covered in sweat, someone's arms were wrapped around him holding him tight, he was vaguely aware that he was in motion. "It's okay," he heard Ivy whisper to him. "It's just a bad dream, I'm _sooo_ sorry Penguin." She tightened her grip on him and he moved his arms to hold her. He tried to push the events he had just witnessed from his mind, Edward's face as he had strangled him in their own bed, the look on his face as Oswald shot him. It had been as bad as the time he had to re-live his mother's death during his treatment at Indian Hill by the hand of Hugo Strange. Getting his breathing under control Oswald lifted his head away from Ivy's shoulder. They were in a car, he looked up into Ivy's concerned face vaguely aware there were other people with them but he would get to them in a moment. Ivy held out a bottle to him gesturing that he should drink, he instinctively attempted to knock it out of her hand not wanting to accept anything she offered him again. "Geez settle down it's just water, no more tea I swear, I learnt my lesson" she said pushing it into his hands. He took it and began to sip while looking around the car to see who else it was they were riding with and why they were even in a car to begin with. He was greeted with the sight of Hugo Strange sitting across from him in the spacious car, rage swelled inside him as the memories of his dream returned to him he began to lunge at Strange uncaring about the events that led him to be seated in a car with the man. He wanted something to vent his anger on and Strange was the perfect candidate. Strange let out a scream and flinched as Oswald leapt across the car at him but before he could get his hands on any part of Strange two sets of hands pulled him back into his seat and attempted to restrain him.

"Calm down little one" a familiar voice came from his right and he felt a hand softly touch his face. He was suddenly filled with an eerie calmness that was contradictory to his current mind set. He sat back down in his seat and turned to be greeted by his old mentor, Fish Mooney.

"Fish" he gasped surprised to see her once again. 

"Hello Oswald" she responded in her calm yet commanding voice. "Have a nice sleep?" she asked amused.

"Terrible if truth be told," Oswald responded "but not quite as bad as some of the ones I had in Arkham" he snapped at Strange staring wildly at him. "Would someone care to explain what I am doing here?" he asked looking between Ivy and Fish attempting to take back control of the situation.

"Well" began Ivy cutting off Fish before she could answer "first you drank the tea Olga made but she brewed it too strong and you fell asleep. Then you were talking about the Riddler in your sleep, a _lot_ , you must have been having one hell of a dream about him," she continued barely stopping for breath. Oswald tried not not to blush but he could feel the redness appearing in his face.

"Okay Ivy that's enou-" he said trying to get her to stop but she continued talking. 

"Olga and I considered moving you but figured you may wake up soon anyway so decided to leave you. No point trying to drag you up _all_ those stairs to your bed if you were just going to wake up five minutes later. Even after I finished breakfast, had a shower and came back downstairs you were still zonked out on the floor muttering to yourself, look I got a photo of us!" She pulled out her phone and turned it on to reveal a photo of herself lying on the floor next to him as he lay face down against the carpet mouth slightly open. Oswald stared at the picture unable to pick a reaction, he might have found this humorous or have been filled with rage if it was not for the fact that Fish and Strange were both witnesses who he dared not look at in order to spare himself more embarrassment.  
"Anyway then after several hours I was starting to get _really_ bored because there was nothing to do at your place and Olga was busy cleaning and said if I was bored I could always help her but anyway-

"Get to the point" Oswald groaned wishing for this to end as fast as possible his face now hidden behind his hands.

"Then Fish showed up!" Ivy said happily "She brought Bridget and Fries back with her!"

"I'll take it from here my dear" Fish responded smoothly, Oswald turned to look at her. "Strange here has promised me an army and together, my little Penguin, I want us to use it to rule this city just as Don Falcone and Maroni did except together we will rule with more power then either of them could ever have imagined." Upon hearing this Oswald recovered from his embarrassment and smiled staring at Fish. 

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Fish, then returning Gotham to the way it was by running Ms. Kean and her band of thugs out of the throne they have no right to sit upon as Don Falcone once did." He held out his had to Fish who took it, they pulled each other into an embrace.

"But first, your little friend here" Fish said gesturing to Ivy, "has helped me to discover something that is of much more pressing concern to me." Oswald turned to look at Ivy who was beaming. 

"Fish brought Strange to you because she knew that if anyone could make him spill the beans about the virus it would be you!" Ivy informed him. 

"You were always so good at persuading people to give up information they didn't want to" Fish agreed. Oswald swelled with pride hearing his old mentor pay him this compliment. "However your, indisposed nature, upon my arrival proved itself troubling." His sense of pride disappeared as he imagined Fish Mooney grandly returning to his house only to discover him face down asleep on the carpet dreaming of Edward Nygma. "Luckily for me though this young one proved herself more then capable of making Strange talk.

"Remember my perfume" Ivy said excitedly "worked like a charm."

"So now we are on our way to collect the antidote that this one stashed away" Fish explained gesturing at Strange. "Once we have it we'll be able to demand anything we want from the city in exchange for it and we'll be on our way back to the top." Oswald sat in stunned silence, everything was falling into place in a way that he could not have planned better. He had come from losing Edward his greatest ally to suddenly having Ivy, Fish, Strange, Bridget and Fries all on his side, Barbara had no idea what was in store for her. He would soon have his revenge for his loss of Edward. He wondered what Edward was up to by now and what plan it was that he had formulated, whatever it was surely there was no way it could be better than this, having Strange and the antidote was clearly the best position to be in. The images of his nightmare returned to him and attempted to eat away at his current state of excitement. The vision of Edward mocking him and laughing in his face at his admission was almost too much after everything they had gone through over the last couple of days. 

They arrived at a slaughterhouse on the east side, the hidden location of the Tetch antidote as they all pilled out of the car Ivy began to follow Oswald.

"Absolutely not" he said sternly holding up a hand to block Ivy.

"What!? Why?" Ivy asked annoyed. 

"You," he pushed her back into the car "are staying in here."

"No way, don't you remember who it was that got us here in the first place?" she said pointing to herself.

"And I am eternally grateful" he said sweetly "but if anything goes wrong I will not have you in harm's way." He closed the car door and moved to catch up to Fish, he heard the window of the car rolling down.

"I'm slipping you more of that tea the first chance I get!" Ivy yelled through the window. 

As Strange had stated the antidote was indeed there, stashed in a hidden wall safe at the back of the lab, once it was in hand they made their way back out of the lab into the warehouse. Oswald was so pleased to be back out on the streets dealing in some real underworld activities. Too long he had been worried about Edward Nygma and Barbara Kean that he had missed the simple pleasure of simply getting out and getting his hands dirty. As they headed to the entrance the way was blocked, Fish's armed guards dead on the floor at the feet of several armed men, Barbara's men. 

"What this?" Fish inquired.

"Surrender now" one of the men responded. "Hand over whatever _that_ is" he gestured to the vials of antidote of Fish's hands who responded with a laugh.

"Oh, sweetie, you are in way too far over your head" she gestured Victor and Bridget forward who in an impressive tandem action spewed fire and ice out over Barbara's men. They scrambled running in every direction and beginning to fire their own weapons rapidly attempting to hit any target. Oswald grabbed Strange and pulled him behind a shipping container, he knew both of them were useless in a fire fight and best off just hiding out of the way while Victor and Bridget did their thing. As Oswald looked out over the fight he saw that a third party had joined the fray, the GCPD lead by Harvey and Jim were taking out Barbara's crew from behind, Jim Gordon uncharacteristically cutting down men in cold blood. Oswald stood wide eyed in horror watching Jim effortlessly pick up and throw several of the men across the room. He must be infected Oswald thought to himself, what true nature had the virus awoken in his friend? Then as if it happened in slow motion, Jim picked up a discarded knife and stabbed it into Fish who let out a pained gasp.

"FISH" Oswald yelled uncontrollably as he ran to catch Fish before she fell. The antidote already slipping out of her grasp and smashing on the floor. 

"Oswald" she whispered as he cradled her in his arms letting her rest against him. 

"It's- its okay, we can get you some help" he stammered anxiously trying to press his hand against the wound to stop it bleeding.

"No" she said looking up at him struggling to breath "I've done this enough times to know I'm finished."

"No, do not say that" he tried to sound reassuringly "we will get you help!"

"Listen to me " she said staring him directly in the eyes "make this city yours or you burn it to the ground!" Then without another word Oswald watched as all remaining life drained out of her and she lay motionless in his arms. The pain was so great inside him just as it had been when his mother had died in his arms. Why did the universe take everything he loved from him? How many times did he need to need to suffer through having a loved one ripped from his arms just as he was becoming happy. First his mother murdered by Galavan, his father poisoned, Edward at the docks and now Fish here at the hands of a man who he had believed to be one of his best friends. His rage swelled and he turned ready to unleash all his built up rage on Jim Gordon.

"People call me a monster" he said standing to face Jim. "You're the mons-" he began but Jim seized him with unnatural strength by the neck and lifted him off his feet. It was the second time today he had experience a close friend seize him by the neck to strangle him. As he began to lose oxygen the vision of Edward Nygma strangling him mixed itself in with Jim and he thought that this was finally how it ended for him. He started to drift into darkness unable to breath the sound of Edward's laugh filling his head but then out of the corner of his eye he saw Harvey Bullock lift and smack something heavy against the back of Jim's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was interesting writing this now that the two are separated but I hope it was still enjoyable nonetheless! I enjoyed writing their separate adventures as it was a bit more of a challenge for me compared to the domestic setting of the house!  
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Sometimes I fly, sometime I crawl. Unknown until I am measured but you will certainly miss me when I'm gone.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward learns the true fate of Oswald and plays a game of riddles with Jervis Tetch. Oswald spends some quality time with Harvey Bullock and Jim Gordon.

Edward awoke feeling the effects of his restless night of sleep. He was greeted by the sight of Nygma sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, wearing the same outfit as he had been the morning after the murder of Kristen. Edward was annoyed that he had let Nygma be so sentimental. He didn't want to think about anything that had happened, to acknowledge it would make it real and if it was real he would have to face it. He knew he couldn't do that without risk of falling apart so he decided to block it out, along with Nygma.

"Hey" Nygma said, eyes red and hair a mess. "Ready to talk about his?" he asked looking up, a horribly pathetic look on his face. Edward did not respond, he pulled himself out of bed and made his way to the door not wanting to even acknowledge Nygma's ruined state. "Please" Nygma insisted scrambling up from the floor "don't bottle this up." Stopping with his hand on the door Edward closed his eyes and took a deep breath attempting to block out Nygma's voice. He opened the door and made his way to the backstage dressing room's that talent used before preforming in the club, Nygma anxiously following along behind trying to get his attention. "Silent treatment is not going to work, I _know_ you can hear me. If Oswald is gon-" Nygma attempted but Edward didn't stop. Locating one of his suits in a closet he moved into the accompanying bathroom slamming the door so Nygma could not follow him. "Like a door would stop me" Nygma yelled from the other side. Edward turned on the shower listening intently to the sound of the water allowing it to drown out the sound of Nygma's voice from the other room and after a while the voice stopped. Edward eventually emerged and sat at one of the dressing tables to do up his tie as Nygma annoyingly sat there looking at him through the mirror. He was aware that Nygma was talking to him but he wasn't listening he was just looking at his own reflection. He couldn't let it get on top of him, couldn't stop for a second to think about it lest he fall apart again like he did last night. That was not who the Riddler was, he had to remain calm and focused if he fell apart now it could be the end of him. What now though, revenge, retreat, destruction? He did not know.

"Listen to me! We have to do _something_ " Nygma yelled finally rousing Edward's attention. Oswald was dead, Edward thought, what did it matter what he did now. He put his fingers under his glasses attempting to focus on anything but Nygma and block out the reality he so desperately wanted to ignore. He made a decision that would get Nygma off his back for the time being.

"Back to the mansion" he said simply getting up and heading out of the room without any real intention of actually fulfilling this statement. 

"Then what?" Nygma asked folding his arms and remaining in the dressing room chair clearly aware he was being lied to.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet. Perhaps you could think of something for me" Edward said not looking back as he exited the room. He made his way through the club with the intention of collecting his briefcase and then leaving.

"Well look who finally managed to drag themself back out here" Barbara called. She was still dressed in her silk nightwear drinking coffee at the bar. "Tantrum over?" She smiled as she leaned back against the bar perched on a stool. "I sent our list of demands to the city that we want in exchange for Tetch, you weren't here so I hope you don't mind my making demands on your behalf" Barbara said teasingly.

"I don't want anything" Edward responded collecting his briefcase and checking the contents.

"Yeah I figured that, so I just put down Penguin" she said with a knowing grin. "You're welcome" she added as Edward turned to look at her. 

"But Penguin is dea-"

"Dead?" she laughed. "Sadly no, you stormed out before you got to hear the end of the story. You always were too dramatic for your own good. Turns out the little cockroach still is alive, currently in GCPD custody." She got up from her place and moved over to him as he stood ridged gripping his briefcase tightly, he could feel the realization swelling inside him about to burst out. "So if you want to fulfill your little revenge fantasy then you are going to have to hang around here a little longer" she said caressing his arm. The it hit him, Oswald was alive! He was in a state of bliss but at the same time scolded himself for ever believing that Oswald would allow himself to ever be beaten in his own house, by the likes of Fish Mooney. Needing to let out his excitement he laughed vigorously and seized Barbara in an embrace who was clearly taken aback but still placed her own arms around him. He let go and seized her by the shoulders and looked beaming into her eyes.

"Oswald's still alive!" he exclaimed excitedly unable to hide his happiness at the news. She looked at him suspiciously and he realized it was too much, "I still get to kill him myself!" he added hoping it would throw her off. She rolled her eyes and pushed his arms off of her.

"I'll never understand you" she sighed and took her place back at the bar sipping her coffee, "anyone would think you were in love with him." Edward did his best to hide his state elation catching Nygma's eye and sharing a grin with him.

"Thanks for keeping a level head" Nygma responded. Edward shook his head unable to respond due to Barbara's presence. "I mean it, if you'd given in to me, let me get carried away, I would have made it worse. This is why you're in charge." Edward took a pen out of his briefcase and wrote a message to Nygma on a sheet of paper that read 'Thank YOU, for facing reality when I could not'. They smiled at one another before Nygma's attention was drawn to something over Edward's shoulder, he turned to see Butch entering from the kitchen. 

"Prisoner still comfortable?" Edward asked still unable to stop himself grinning and drumming his fingers on his briefcase. Butch gave him a weary look. 

"Yeah" he replied shorty moving to the bar to pour himself a drink clearly not wanting to engage with Edward at all. 

"Shouldn't be too much longer before we get the call from city hall" Barbara said finishing her coffee. "I'm going to get ready, I need to look my best when I become queen of the city." She made her way towards the back stopping at Butch on the way. "Keep a close eye on Tetch" Edward heard her whisper to Butch, feeling her gaze on him. His excited outburst had clearly roused suspicion and he felt slightly annoyed at himself for succumbing to his emotions in front of Barbara.  
Not wanting to be left alone at the bar with Butch he once again placed himself in front of the window to observe what had befallen the city overnight. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the mayor's office contacted them to either to accept or deny their demands. Edward did not believe that Mayor James would be in any way willing to cooperate with Barbara or himself after the amount of trouble they had given him over the previous years. He considered just dragging Tetch down to the GCPD in person and demanding a trade for Oswald but he knew he would never walk out of there free or perhaps even alive, he had angered far to many officers recently. Central was probably one of safest places in the city right now with everything that was happening and the police would be to busy to transfer Oswald to Blackgate or _Arkham_. He was filled with horror at the thought of Oswald being sent back to Arkham if Harvey was feeling particularly vengeful. 

"Don't get carried away again" Nygma teased "he's not going to Arkham. If he did however think of the fun we'd have breaking him out." Edward considered the idea and found himself already beginning to consider exactly how he would go about it. He wondered if Oswald would be willing to one day let himself be committed just so he would be allowed the challenge of getting him out as Oswald had once done for him. The idea the breakout occupied his mind for a while as he waited for news regarding their demands however he began to grow board of it as he knew Oswald would never allow such an activity. He turned his attention instead to Oswald's current state of incarceration. 

"Perhaps I should just attempt to get him out of central myself?" Edward asked Nygma who was leaning with his back on the window watching Tabitha and Butch conspire at the bar. "Do we really think the city is going to give into our demands?"

"Because the last time we walked into the GCPD it worked so well. I seem to remember you ended up locked in a cage for several days" Nygma quipped. 

"I hate this waiting, I wish there was more I could do" Edward stated beginning to run through a dozen different plans in his head to acquire Oswald but none of them had a high success rate. 

"Do those two really think that no one knows what they're up to?" Nygma asked with a frown on his face indicating Tabitha and Butch. "It's like watching apes at the zoo." Edward couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "They're talking about you" Nygma observed.

"Let them. Once I have Oswald their usefulness will have run its course." Edward's phone began to ring, he reached in and pulled it out of his breast pocket, the caller ID read unknown. "Hello" he answered flatly not wanting to draw any attention from Butch or Tabitha. 

"Nygma, it's Gordon" came the familiar voice of his ex-coworker "I'm calling with a proposition. Can you talk?"

"I can listen" he responded keeping his cool not wanting to give any insight into his current situation.

"The deal is simple, Penguin for Tetch no questions asked" Gordon stated. 

"I have your word that once I hand Tetch over I'm free to leave unobstructed with Penguin?" 

"Yes"

"Deal" he said calmly and they agreed on a location to make the trade. Edward hung up grinning to himself once again, you beautiful fool Jim Gordon, this couldn't have worked out better if he planned it. 

"Are Butch or Tabitha paying attention to me?" he asked Nygma staying as still as possible. 

"No, they're wrapped up in their own conversation, looking the other way." Edward moved unobserved into the kitchen and opened the door to Tetch's temporary cell. Tied to the chair was Jervis Tetch, his eyes opening widely at the sight of Edward. He was gagged and Edward decided that it was probably best for him to remain so in case he tried anything that caused them to be discovered. 

"Stay quiet if you know what's best with you" Edward said as he untied Tetch from the chair making sure to keep the man's hands bound before untying his legs. Tetch was still wearing the ridiculous paper top hat and he wondered why Butch and Tabitha had allowed him to continue wearing it this long. Edward would certainly not put up with having to stare at it any longer and knocked it off of Tetch's head giving it a suitable kick to the edge of the room. Tetch made angry noises under his gag and attempted to strain to see where it fell to. "Let's go" Edward growled pulling Tetch up and moving to the entrance of the room checking the kitchen was clear before they exited. Tetch willingly came giggling under his gag as they went, clearly excited about this sudden turn of events. Edward took the back stair way that led down to the garage which housed many of Barbara's cars. He selected one of the more inconspicuous ones and pushed Tetch into the back seat. "Don't try anything funny!" he ordered pointing his finger firmly at Tetch. He ran over to gun cabinet in the garage and selected a hand gun from the multiple weapons available and loaded it. He caught sight of a footlocker next to the gun cabinet and opened it to inspect the contents. Inside he found multiple explosives, selecting a hand grenade and grabbing a chain off of a work bench he made his way back to the car and got into the driver's seat Nygma on the passenger side already, seat belt on. Edward stared down at it and then looked at Nygma with one eyebrow raised.

"Safety first!" Nygma said cheerfully. Edward shook his head and turned to Tetch pulling the gag out of his mouth. He figured he may as well have someone to talk to while they drove to the meeting point. He would happily have just talked to his double but he didn't want Tetch to see him talking to himself.

"What wonderful adventure are we on now I wonder" Tetch said excitedly. 

"One that results in me trading you for much better company" Edward responded turning back to start the car, he knew already that he didn't like Tetch. The unhinged expression on the mans face combined with the outfit reminded him too much of Arkham and the company he had kept there for far too long. 

"I know you" Tetch said becoming somewhat serious, "you're the one who likes riddles."

"Perhaps" Edward responded pulling the car out onto the street and checking behind them to make sure no one had seen them leave. 

"Go on then" Tetch said excitedly "give me you're best shot." Edward smiled smugly, he would never pass up the opportunity to best someone in a game of riddles.

"I have thirteen hearts but no body or soul. What am I?" he asked feeling it was an appropriate first choice to get them going. 

"Deck of cards" Tetch responded straight away, Edward tried not to let himself look too annoyed at the speed at which Tectch answered. "Too thematic," Tetch said looking out of the window. "Look at the beauty my sister has brought to the city! She's made it show its true face, _beautiful_." Edward hated that he had taken joy in watching the city earlier just as Tetch was doing now, he didn't like being in agreement about anything with this man.

"Alright, if my riddle was so easy why don't you give me one" Edward said through gritted teeth. Tetch grinned back at him.

"I start with "T", end with "T", and within me is "T". What am I?" Edward slammed on the brakes of the car causing he and Tetch to be flung forward roughly and turned in his seat to look back at Tetch. 

"That" Edward responded pushing Tetch's gag back into place, "is the _worst_ riddle I have ever heard." He was not going to play this game anymore if that was the kind of _insulting_ riddle he would have to endure. 

"Thank you" Nygma said shaking his head and looking back at Tetch. "That was worse than Dougherty's clock riddle". They sat in silence for a moment as Edward drove before he looked back at Tetch in the rear vision mirror.  
"The answer is teapot by the way, just in case there was any doubt that I knew the answer. Now who's being thematic?" Tetch simply laughed through his gag. The drove in silence for the rest of the way to the secluded warehouse Jim Gordon had selected.  
Dragging Tetch out of the car Edward smiled to himself when he realized it would only be a few more minutes before he and Oswald were reunited. He chose a sufficiently pleasing location to stand so that when Oswald was bought into the room he would have the best view of him, his savior. He was going to make sure this change over went as smoothly as possible, he was not interested in bargaining for any extra conditions and was simply going to had Tetch over. He still new that leverage was always necessary in situations like this so taking out the grenade he attached it to the chain and hung it around Tetch's neck. They did not have to wait long before he heard three voices approaching, one the unmistakable voice of Oswald arguing with Jim Gordon. Edward grinned uncontrollably at the idea of Oswald feigning disapproval at being handed over to his so called nemesis when he knew there was nothing that either of them wanted more. Then entering the warehouse with as much dignity and composure as someone being escorted by police could have, Edward saw him, Oswald Cobblepot.

 

****

 

Coughing and clutching at his throat Oswald was laying against the cold ground staring at body of Fish Mooney and the smashed antidote at her side. Everything had been going so well and now he was at the mercy of the GCPD with nothing to bargain with.

"Arrest 'em, all of them!" Harvey yelled in a commanding but annoyed voice. He turned to face Strange who was already in the hands of two officers. "Strange, you better tell me you can make more of that antidote."

"Yes, yes, I just need one thing" he responded clearly aware this was his only way out of his present situation.

"And that is?" Harvey grumbled unexcited at the fact there was something else he now needed to get.

"Jervis Tetch's blood" Strange responded simply.

"Get him back to the lab at central" Harvey order the officers and turned his attention to Oswald, pulling out some handcuffs.

"Come now, Captain, we both know you don't want to do this" Oswald attempted to sound as pleasant as possible given what had just happened. He saw Harvey spare a glance towards Fish for a moment before turning back to him.

"Oh, you're wrong Penguin, I want this more then anything right now" Harvey said dragging Oswald to his feet. They both looked over to see a few officers attempting to move towards Bridget and Fries who both held their weapons up threateningly. 

"Leave them" Harvey ordered. "We got the Penguin and Strange, I won't lose more men over this. Let's go." He started dragging Oswald out who watched in stunned silence as Victor and Bridget backed off taking their opportunity to escape unscathed. 

"Ivy!" Oswald yelled at them not wanting to give Harvey any more information, "please!". He saw Victor give him a nod before exiting out the back.  
Oswald was escorted to Harvey's police cruiser and roughly placed into the front seat his hands being hand cuffed to the hand hold above his head. He watched as Gordon was placed in the back seat behind the protective grete. Oswald looked over to where Fish's car was searching for any sign that Ivy was safe. All he could see was that rear door was open and there was no indication she was there, he looked around the scene but could not see her with any of the officers either. He knew Ivy was capable of looking after herself so would have pray that she had found her own way out of trouble to meet up with Bridget and Fries. Harvey climbed into the driver's side which Oswald only just realized was missing it's door. 

"Letting me ride up front Captain? I'm _honored_ " Oswald said sarcastically doing his best to annoy Harvey.

"Yeah, well to be honest I'd rather take my chances with you then him right now" Harvey said gesturing back to Jim. 

"Why not simply let me ride with one of your fellow officers I'm sure the-" Oswald began.

"No way, you stay were I can see you. Jim isn't awake to protect you now." Harvey said smugly. "You're going away for sure this time Penguin." 

"I wasn't the one who killed Fish" Oswald hissed but Harvey didn't respond even though he was clearly effected by the statement. Oswald remembered that Harvey cared somewhat for Fish and that the two had a long working relationship that had grown into respect and friendship. Oswald knew he would be safe to admit his feelings to him for this short time. 

"I'll miss her" he admitted. 

"So will I kid" Harvey replied clearly doing his best to not let it get to him. The two sat in respectful silence together for a minute until Harvey spoke. "Back to business" he said pulling up the radio from his dash. "This is Captain Bullock, I need Tetch transferred to central now! Get the paperwork sorted and ready for me by the time I get back. I'm also bringing in the Penguin so make sure we have a cell waiting," he gave a sideways glance to Oswald, "an empty one."

"Thank you" muttered Oswald who did not want to share a small space with whoever the Tetch virus had landed in handcuffs. After a short time a voice came back over the radio.

"Captain, you there?" came the officer on the other line. 

"Yeah, I'm here what is it now?" Harvey asked.

"We just spoke to the guards at Arkham and it appears that paper work for Tetch's transfer was filed just over an hour ago. He's already been moved."

"What!?" Harvey yelled into the radio. "How? You need mine and a judge's signature on that paperwork." 

"Both present and accounted for on the document Captain. That's why it went through with out our knowledge." 

"Then where is he?" Harvey said his voice becoming less commanding and more annoyed.

"We're not sure" the voice said nervously from the other end "the van never arrived here."

"God Dammit" Harvey yelled smacking his hand on the dashboard in anger. "Find the van now!" he yelled into the radio and slammed it down. 

"Edward" Oswald said in realization knowing that it had to have been him who moved Tetch. 

"Nygma?" Harvey asked more annoyed then ever. Oswald simply shrugged. 

"Who else?" he said flatly as Harvey let out a groan. Oswald had considered Fish's plan to have Strange retrieve the antidote to be the best strategy given the current situation but as he should have expected Edward was a step ahead of them already with a plan neither he nor the GCPD had even considered. Arriving at the station Oswald was placed in one of the holding cells in the bull pen, it was empty just as Harvey had requested. 

He spent the entire night in the uncomfortable holding cell trying his best to sleep on the cold hard bench. Even though Oswald had experienced it in the past it still made it no less easier especially after following on from the night before. Going from his own comfy bed in the arms of Edward to the cold hard bench behind bars was not what Oswald had foreseen. 

"What does the former mayor of Gotham have to do to get some coffee around here?" Oswald barked through the bars at some officers who simply shook their heads and turned their backs on him. Oswald groaned and sat back down on the bench, he remembered the time he sat here with Edward whispering to him from the other side, promising to visit his mother's grave for him. He must remember to go for another visit to his mother once things had calmed down, maybe Edward would go with him. He watched over the station and saw that Jim and Harvey were having a heated discussion up on the mezzanine as he watched he realized Jim had started shooting down nervous glances at him. He struggled to hear what they were talking about from his current position so he moved to the side of the cell in an attempt to at least pick up on what they were saying through body language. Jim was trying to convince Harvey of something, something that must involve him as Jim continued to look down occasionally gesturing in his direction. He felt angrier the longer he stared at Jim the vision of Fish being killed at his hand replaying in his head. He would have to think of a suitable punishment for Jim Gordon at some point. The conversation turned rough between the two men as Jim seized Harvey by the lapels and yelled something about 'Lee'. Oswald had to admit that the virus had certainly done a number on Jim. Harvey must have been convinced by whatever it was Jim had felt the need to threaten him over as Jim had taken out his phone and was calling someone. The call lasted for several moments before he hung up. Then two officers made their way down to his cell trying not to make eye contact with any of their coworkers. Harvey pulled out his keys and began to unlock the cell. 

"Okay Penguin let's go, your being transferred to Blackgate" Harvey exclaimed a little too loudly so that everyone could hear him. He grabbed Oswald by the shoulder and pulled him out. Oswald began to struggle.

"What no! You can not take me to prison, Jim, don't let him do this!" Oswald pleaded. He had been sure they would leave him here in the holding cell with all the mayhem of the virus running through the city. This was the fastest they had ever moved him out of here, there had to be something else that was motivating their actions. They moved him as quickly as possible towards the back parking bay Jim's tight grip on his shoulder stopping him from struggling. "Where are we going?" Oswald demanded. 

"Shut up" Jim growled , pulling him roughly along.

"I'm not trying to aggravate you it's just that this doesn't exactly have an above the board feel about it" he exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Barbara and Nygma have Tetch, they're ransoming the city" Harvey explained clearly eager to stop Oswald whining.

"So what does that have to do with me?" he asked still unable to follow exactly what was going on. Harvey and Jim exchanged a guilt filled glance at one another and Oswald knew exactly what it meant. They all still believed that Edward and Oswald were caught up in their feud.

"You're handing me over to him?" Oswald stammered attempting to pull from of Jim's grasp out of pure surprise. He was being handed over to Edward, who they all still believe wanted him dead. 

"It's a small price to pay for saving the city" Jim admitted. There it was the best news that he could have possibly heard. Jim was handing him back to Edward without any realization that it was exactly what he wanted. He didn't even have to try this time, his escape was being handed straight to him, even when separated he and Edward could not be beaten. In order to keep Jim from suspecting this was exactly what he wanted it was time to do what he did best, beg for his life.

"Yeah for you, for me it's a very large price!" he said "Look, he can not be trusted you are risking everything based on the word of a sociopath." He was glad Edward was not here to hear him call him that.

"Yeah, yeah, get in the car" Jim ordered pushing him roughly inside. Oswald smiled to himself as he sat up in the backseat alone while the two detectives talked outside the car. He was going to be reunited with Edward very soon and no one suspected a thing. He knew that he was going to enjoy this exchange, nothing made him more in the mood for causing trouble then knowing something others did not. Edward would in no doubt be vying complete control of the situation and Oswald couldn't wait to make it as difficult as possible for him.  
They arrived at a secluded location where the exchange was clearly going to take place. Harvey assisted him out of the car his hands being bound in hand cuffs combined with his bad leg made it a difficult feat to achieve by himself. His leg was a hindrance enough already that he knew he had to get out of the cuffs if he stood any chance of being useful during the exchange in the case of something going wrong. 

"Do you mind?" he asked holding his hands out to Harvey who ignored the request. "Look if I'm going to be the city's sacrificial lamb the least you could do is lead me to the slaughter with a little dignity" he exclaimed laying it on thick in the hopes of gaining sympathy from one of the two detectives. 

"No" Jim replied simply clearly agitated. He suddenly found himself upset by Jim's complete lack of interest in his safety given the fact that he believed Edward Nygma wanted him dead. He had been so caught up in the idea of seeing Edward again that he had almost completely over looked the fact that Jim was so ready to hand him over to his apparent death. 

"You don't think that I can cause you trouble once we're inside?" he threatened moving to Jim's side.

"You do and I'll kill you" Jim stated but Oswald knew this was a lie on many levels. One, because he knew Jim was incapable of killing him given their relationship but also because Edward would never allow Jim to lay a hand on him once they were in the same room together. It was the third and most rational reason that Oswald used however to convince him knowing that it would also appeal to Harvey's common sense.

"No you won't. Not before you have Tetch, not before the exchange goes smoothly" he stated knowingly. "And after that what do you care what happens!" he added angrily imaging the hypothetical scene of Jim walking away with Tetch as Edward dragged Oswald off to kill him. Oswald found himself wondering if it was the virus that was causing Jim to act so heartlessly towards him or whether they had finally reached the end of their push and pull relationship for good. 

"Let's just get his over with!" Harvey said bringing their bickering to an end and unlocking the cuffs. 

"Thank you!" Oswald in as genuine a voice as possible as someone being betrayed could manage. He had to calm himself down, he was about to see Edward after all and he needed as much of his composure as possible for the first moment he glimpsed him. They entered the warehouse and there he was as striking as ever, standing perfectly framed between two rows of pillars with the light streaming in through the window to illuminate him, Edward Nygma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally they are re-united which means next chapter will take up the dual perspective format again!


	7. I am black and white and full of fuzz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited, Edward and Oswald go for a wild ride before returning to the scene of their worst encounter with the hope of making everything right between them however a revelation from Ivy tests their relationship one last time.

Edward couldn't help but grin as he watched Oswald being escorted towards him by Jim and Harvey.

"My three favorite men" Edward exclaimed tucking his gun into his belt seeing that Harvey and Jim had come unarmed and without back up. He felt confident that this exchange would go smoothly and that he and Oswald would be on their way back to the mansion without further delay. It wasn't over yet though, he still had to keep up appearances until Oswald was safely in his arms. Given how Oswald had reacted during their encounter with Barbara he knew that he would be up for a bit of theatrics. "Don't feel too bad Oswald, you're death at my hands was inevitable" he bragged. 

"Is that what you told yourself last time?" Oswald responded quickly, clearly ready for whatever Edward had to throw at him.

"I'm assuming the grenades not a fashion statement?" asked Harvey interrupting their fun.

"Precaution. You three try anything, I pull the pin, _kaboom_ , no more Tetch!" He found that he meant it, if that was the cost of getting Oswald back he would gladly pull the pin on Tetch. "No hope for an antidote" he added over confidently. 

"A little crude don't you think?" Oswald said looking at him raising an eyebrow. Edward went to respond but was cut off by Jim.

"Enough, let's get this over with" Jim commanded dragging Oswald closer towards Edward equally eager to make the trade.

"You're infected?" Tetch laughed happily. "How wonderful!" He began to giggle and Edward pushed him forwards with one hand, glad to be rid of him, while reaching out for Oswald with the other as Jim pushed the Penguin forwards. Edward was so close to reaching him, his hand inches from Oswald's but he didn't get the chance to grab it as they were all startled by the sound of a door opening and footsteps entering.

"NYGMAAAA" came the voice of Barbara just as it had done at the mansion the previous morning. She entered laughing with Butch and Tabitha on her heels, all armed. "Did you really think you could get away with this?" she asked furiously. 

"I knew you'd figure out that this was about Oswald" Edward admitted "but how did you figure out where we were?" He was annoyed yet curious, perhaps he had not given them enough credit. 

"Please, you know how many cops I got on the payroll?" She turned to Gordon addressing him. "Oh, baby, you might want to use your inside growl whilst making secret calls inside the GCPD." Edward turned to glare at Jim and saw that Oswald had done the same in unison with him. All their hard work had been undone by the stupid mistake of Jim Gordon.

"Time to think of plan B" Nygma said appearing beside Tetch. "How are we going to get our self and Oswald out of this?" Edward saw him begin to look around searching for options.

"Now hand him over!" Barbara ordered turning her gun on Edward. He looked sideways at Oswald, he knew that Penguin would often try to talk his way out of this and he didn't want to ruin any attempt he may make at that. 

"Throw the grenade" Nygma ordered "they'll have to take cover, use that opportunity to head for cover behind that pillar. Gordon and Harvey will have a moment to draw their weapons and unintentionally cover you". Edward shot a quick glance indicating Oswald to Nygma. "Ninety percent chance Barbara is only interested in Tetch, he won't be a priority so long as he gets out of the way." Unable to argue with Nygma's reasoning Edward seized the grenade from Tetch's neck and threw it at Barbara and crew. They dived back behind cover to avoid the blast giving Jim and Harvey the opportunity to draw their own weapons as they too ducked behind cover, just as Nygma had anticipated. Edward dived behind the nearby pillar and searched for Oswald who had moved away in the opposite direction. Pinned behind the pillar with someone firing at him Edward searched as best he could for signs of Oswald, he spotted him already running for the entrance. Taking a deep breath he bolted out from behind the pillar after Oswald, he could not stay here longer than he needed too or he would risk being caught in cross fire. As he ran he heard Barbara issue a command to whoever was firing at him.

"Let him go! We need to get Tetch!"

"Right again" Edward stated to Nygma as he had a clear run to the entrance. He pushed away the plastic cover of the door and emerged into the sunlight once again searching for where Oswald had run to but he could see no trace of him. Then, colliding with him from behind, there he was, arms wrapping tight around his waist. Struggling to move within his grasp Edward did his best to return the embrace having to settle with placing his arms around Oswald's head, planting a kiss on his hair.

"I thought I lost you" Edward mumbled into Oswald's hair, taking a moment to take in the reality that Oswald was in his arms. 

"Edward" he heard Oswald say muffled by his shirt as Oswald squeezed himself tight against him. He looked up at him with a grin on his face and they both moved in to kiss each other with equal force. 

"I know I said I wouldn't interrupt" Nygma interjected as Edward was running his hand through the back of Oswald's hair "but someone is coming!" A bullet raced over their heads and hit a nearby shipping container. Breaking their embrace Edward seized Oswald's hand and pulled him along behind him as he began to run. His car was too far away, they wouldn't make it safely, especially with Oswald's leg slowing them down. Moving around the corner they spotted the police cruiser, looking at one another they nodded in agreement and headed towards it. More bullets raced past them striking the car and Edward looked back to see that Tabitha was pursuing them. "Well look at that" Nygma said amused "they're finally putting all that teenage whispering to effect." Edward had pulled out his pistol and returned fire attempting to cover their escape. Reaching the car first Oswald climbed into the driver's seat but Edward, realizing there was no time to move around to the other side and not wanting to be locked in the back, began forcing himself into the driver's seat to try and get the door closed.

"Edward, what are you doing? I'm driving!" Oswald protested as Edward's excessive amount of limbs became tangled with Oswald as he forced himself in through the door. A stray bullet convinced Oswald to let Edward push him inside along the bench seat and take the driver's spot. Edward took off and let out a sigh of relief at their escape putting his hand on Oswald's leg but suddenly the car was struck hard from the side sending them veering off course. Edward did his best to keep them on course but they were knocked around roughly as he tried to regain control of the car. 

"Oswald are you okay?' Edward managed as he got the car back on track.

"I told you I should have driven!" Oswald snapped back playfully holding his head that had just been bumped against the dash. "Who hit us?" he asked looking around for the other car.

"Butch" Edward growled looking in the rear vision mirror seeing Tabitha climbing into the car behind and leaning out of the window to fire at them. 

"Get down!" Edward yelled seizing Oswald's head and pulling him down into his lap so that no stray bullets could hit him. From his new position in Edward's lap, a large amused grin appeared on Oswald's face. 

"Why Mr. Nygma how gallant of you. If only there was a way I could repay you" Oswald said with an air of mischief. Edward did not like the tone of Oswald's voice, it was the one he used when he was getting an idea and this one sounded particularly troublesome. He turned his attention back to driving them to safety. He was going to have lose their pursuers and it wouldn't be to long before Gordon called in police back up. He knew he did not have the fire power to out gun Butch and Tabitha, it would have to come down to his driving to lose them. "Well, while I'm down here I can think of one way to repay you" Oswald said rolling over and beginning to fumble with Edward's belt. Caught off guard at Oswald's actions Edward swerved nearly causing them to crash into some pallets. He attempted to swat Oswald's hands away from his belt but he was having so much trouble driving with all the other distractions he had to keep both hands on the wheel. 

"Is this really the time for that?" Edward asked as he ducked down himself as a spray of Tabitha's rounds hit the back of the car. Oswald had successfully undone his belt and was now working on getting his fly down. 

"Well you appear to be enjoying in" Oswald said teasingly running his hand over Edward's semi hard erection. Edward swerved the car on purpose forcing Oswald to brace himself against the dash board so he wasn't thrown onto the floor of the car. "Hey! You did that on purpose!" he snapped moving himself back into position.

"If you wouldn't mind" Edward yelled flustered, "we have a very pressing matter at hand!" Oswald sighed. 

"Do you have your phone?" he asked.

"In my breast pocket" Edward exhaled trying his best to regain composure. Oswald not moving from his position awkwardly reached up and pulled the phone out and dialed a number. He turned his attention back to Edward while it rang. He placed a soft kiss on him through his underwear causing Edward to gasp in delight and grip the steering wheel tight attempting to focus. 

"Ivy!" Oswald said cheerfully into the phone "Is Victor with you?" Edward listened as Ivy clearly was giving the long answer to the question on the other end. Oswald took the opportunity to exhale warmly over Edward once again causing him to shudder and gasp. "Ivy, just get down to the docks near where you found me. Now! We'll meet you there" Oswald ordered hanging up before he was subjected to another long response.

"The docks?" Edward asked. Oswald finally sat up and leaned onto his shoulder. 

"This time we'll leave together" he answered laying a kiss on his cheek. "Another moment made right for us both". Edward grinned and looked away from the road for a second to return the kiss. As he drove he managed to gain some distance between themselves and Butch even with Oswald's continued efforts to distract him ruthlessly with insistent touches and suggestions. After a deep kiss to his neck Edward couldn't stand it any longer. 

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you want us to crash" Edward said breathing heavily.

"I'd stop if you weren't enjoying it so much" Oswald whispered into his ear sending shivers down his spine. Another round of fire hit the car, a bullet flying between them and embedding itself into the dashboard. 

"That's it!" Edward growled in a low voice. "Take the wheel" he ordered Oswald beginning to swap places with him. 

"What the hell Ed!" Oswald exclaimed while quickly doing as he was told in order to stop them losing control of the car. Edward, now sitting on the passenger side, did his belt back up, retrieved his gun and turned to look out the back window.

"Chances of me hitting Butch?" Edward asked Nygma who was now in the back seat. 

"Given speed, distance and position I'd say ten percent" Nygma observed "but the risk of being hit is much higher" he added "around 85 percent". Edward nodded.  
"It needs to be at least twenty percent to hit Butch and without a chance of being hit by Tabitha," he replied. "I need one direct shot and the timing is going to have to be perfect." He looked over at his companion who he noticed was staring at him but turned away when he saw Edward look up. "Oswald," he said beginning to wind down his window "when I say so, turn hard right as soon as possible." 

"What? Why what are you-" Oswald began looking over to as Edward began positioning himself by the window. "Absolutely not!" he yelled attempting to grab him by the jacket and pull him back from the window.

"Oswald, please" Edward looked back and met his gaze "trust me." Oswald stared at him for a moment and then nodded, focusing his attention back on the road.

"Tell me when" he said. 

They both ducked down as more bullets showered the car. Nygma began to count the shots and when he was sure Tabitha would have to reload he nodded to Edward.

"Now!" Edward yelled pulling himself out out the window so he was sitting in the frame, arm out stretched. As instructed Oswald swerved the car right into a warehouse entrance positioning themselves broadside to Butch and Tabita's car. A direct shot lined up Edward aimed and fired directly at Butch. The bullet flew through the windshield and impacted directly between Butch's eyes who then fell forward onto the steering wheel causing the car to swerve off course. Edward let out an excited laugh as Oswald directed them safely back on course. He slid himself back into the car, overcome with adrenaline he seized Oswald and began to laugh.

"Did you see that shot?" he asked pleased with himself "and you were perfect" he added planting a kiss on Oswald's cheek. Oswald had a smirk on his face as he looked sideways at Edward.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?" he asked.

"Never" Edward said rubbing his nose against the side of Oswald's face and kissing him several more times before leaning back against the seat still full of energy. Finally reaching their destination they climbed out of the car and walked to the end of the dock to wait together for Ivy. Once there Edward seized Oswald properly for the first time since their reunion and held him as tight as could. Butch and Tabitha dealt with there was nothing to stop them from being together now, he took Oswald's face in his hands and stared into his green eyes. Oswald moved up to kiss him and Edward returned it. It wasn't long before Ivy and Victor arrived in one of Oswald's cars.

"Let's go home" Oswald said beginning to head towards the car. Unable to put his feeling of happiness into words Edward simply nodded beaming at Oswald. 

"NO!" Ivy yelled appearing and shoving Edward hard away from Oswald. He stumbled back nearly tripping over completely taken by surprise.

"Ivy what the hell-" Oswald began but the girl cut him off.

"Penguin you can't trust him" she stated angrily pointing at Edward. "I won't let you hurt him any more."

"This again" Oswald said annoyed and rolling his eyes.

"I heard you the other morning" Ivy said looking at Edward clearly trying to remain calm "on the stairs. You were talking to yourself about a plan to trick Penguin into falling in love with you!" The words hung in the air and Oswald turned back to face Edward, his expression changing from annoyance at Ivy to something indescribable.

"Oh dear" Nygma said nervously, suddenly appearing "quick, explain yourself!" Edward tried to speak but the look on Oswald's face felt like it was freezing him solid. He had not anticipated this and was not ready for the incoming task of explaining the complicated situation. Edward was beginning to panic, he could feel control slipping away from him, if he didn't focus he was going to make it worse. 

"I-is true?" Oswald asked his expression caught somewhere between sorrow and fury. Edward couldn't bare how he was looking at him.

"Yes" Edward blurted out before he could figure out what he should say.

"WHAT?" Oswald roared

"I mean no! I mean _yes_ , she heard me say it but I didn't mean it!" He could hear himself making it worse.

"Why would you say it if you didn't mean it ED" Oswald's expression was beginning to slip into anger and Edward was trying to find the words to explain himself but they were not coming.

"I- I," he began but nothing came out.

"Tell him the truth" Nygma said clearly also frustrated. 

"Well Ed? I'm waiting" Oswald said taking a step closer.

"Say ANYTHING!" Nygma yelled.

"Stop talking!" Edward yelled at Nygma unable to deal with the pressure from multiple people. He put his fingers between his glasses and eyes attempting to focus.

"Don't you dare tell me to stop talking Edward Nygma!" Oswald snapped. 

"I wasn't talking to you" Edward responded opening his eyes and looking at Oswald who's expression was the worst thing Edward had ever had to suffer through. He had done it again, ruined everything just when he thought it had been going so right. Why had he been so stupid as to talk about this with Nygma aloud. 

"On the stairs..." Oswald observed turning to look at Ivy and then back at him. He moved in close to him staring directly at him, causing Edward to feel physically sick.

"That was _after_ we spent the night together," Oswald muttered quietly at him. "Were you so dedicated to your sick game that you would go that far?" Oswald's anger was turning to hurt as he studied Edward's face for an answer. Edward still found himself unable to respond properly only opening and closing his mouth slightly as he tried to find any words that would come out. The look on Oswald's face was unbearable. "I knew you were up to something but I didn't think you were capable of _this_ " he sounded devastated.

"You knew?" Edward finally managed.

"Of course I knew!" Oswald replied. "You show up on my doorstep with a sudden change of heart? You are not as subtle as you think you are" he was beginning to become angry again. If Oswald had known the whole time that he had not been genuine, then why had he let him back in, why not simply turn him away or call him out? He had been so close to happiness and now there was no way he could talk his way out of this, if only he was as good with this sort of thing as Oswald. Twice now he had failed at having a proper relationship with Oswald and he wondered if it was something he would ever be able to get right no matter how hard he tried.

"I've made another mistake" was all he could manage in the face of Oswald's furious expression. He knew it wasn't enough but it was all he had and as he looked on helplessly at Oswald he knew that he was getting everything he deserved. Oswald remained silent, his rage clearly building, Edward knew he was about to receive the full brunt of Oswald Cobblepot's rage. 

 

****

 

Oswald held his composure as the two detectives escorted him towards Edward and Tetch.

"My three favorite men" Edward stated looking as smug as always when he was in a position of power. "Don't feel too bad Oswald, you're death at my hands was inevitable" he bragged. Oswald knew he was not going to let him get away with it this easily.

"Is that what you told yourself last time?" Oswald quipped wanting to push as many of Edward's buttons as possible because the idea of Edward becoming flustered excited him. 

"I'm assuming the grenades not a fashion statement?" asked Harvey interrupting their moment.

"Precaution. You three try anything, I pull the pin, _kaboom_ , no more Tetch!" It was way over the top and completely in keeping with what Edward considered a 'precaution'. "No hope for an antidote" Edward added clearly pleased with himself. 

"A little crude don't you think?" Oswald said raising his eyebrow attempting to get any kind of response out of him. 

"Enough, let's get this over with" Jim commanded ruining his fun and dragging him forward. He was so close to Edward now, they had gotten away with it but before he could be handed over the exchange was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and footsteps approaching. 

"NYGMAAA" came the unmistakable voice of Barbara Kean. Oswald was surprised, he would have expected Edward to have covered his tracks better then this. "Did you really think you could get away with this?" she asked furiously as she entered the room Butch and Tabitha at her side.

"I knew you'd figure out that this was about Oswald "but how did you figure out where we were?" Edward asked.

"Please, you know how many cops I got on the payroll?" She turned to Gordon, addressing him, "Oh, baby, you might want to use your inside growl whilst making secret calls inside the GCPD." Oswald turned to glare at Jim, once again his plans ruined by Jim's well meaning but poorly executed actions. "Now hand him over!" Barbara demanded turning her gun on Edward. Oswald considered attempting to talk there way out of this but with Jim infected and Barbara so on edge he didn't like his chances. Before he could think of anything to say, Edward had seized the grenade around Tetch's neck and thrown it at Barbara. Everyone began diving for cover and Oswald took the opportunity to run. He knew he was useless in the fight considering he was unarmed so decided it was best to just use the chaos to flee and hope that Edward would realize and catch up with him. Several bullets shot past him as he ran as fast as his leg would allow and he heard Barbara yelling over the gunfire. "Let him go! We need to get Tetch!" No more bullets were directed at him and heading out the door he hid to the side of the doorway and seized a piece of nearby metal pole, holding it ready in case anyone but Edward emerged behind him. It was Edward however who came racing out of the door anxiously searching around for signs of him. Dropping the pole he dived at the tall man seizing him tightly around the waist relieved he had managed to make it out unharmed behind him. Edward placed his arms around his head and kissed him muttering something into him.

"Edward" was all Oswald could manage digging is face as closely into Edward's chest as possible relived to be back in his arms. He pulled his head up leaned in to kiss him and was greeted with an equally eager response from Edward who began to run his hand vigorously through Oswald's hair. They were forced to break apart as a bullet flew over head narrowly missing them. Edward seized his hand and began to drag him towards safety. Hurrying around the side of the building the first car they encountered was the police cruiser. He looked up at Edward and nodded in agreement that they should just take this one rather then attempt to get back to where ever Edward had parked. As bullets flew past them and Edward returned fire to cover him, Oswald made it to the car and pulled open the driver's door. Climbing inside he found Harvey had foolishly left the car keys in the ignition but as he reached to start the car he was greeted by Edward attempting to force himself into the driver's side. 

"Edward, what are you doing? I'm driving!" Oswald protested, annoyed at how difficult Edward had made this for them both rather than simply getting in the back or moving to the other side. Edward's arms and legs were everywhere as he attempted to get the door closed behind him. A stray bullet striking the side of the car convinced Oswald to give up the driver's seat and move across the bench seat to let Edward in. As Edward pulled them out of the lot Oswald took a moment to wave excitedly at Tabitha as she attempted to run after them. Edward placed a hand on his leg and Oswald was about to take it but they were violently thrown around by the impact of another car crashing into theirs. Oswald banged his head on the dash as he was thrown forward, leaning back and seizing his throbbing head he saw that Edward had managed to keep them on the road and moving in spite of the other driver's best efforts.

"Oswald are you okay?' Edward asked, sounding concerned.

"I told you I should have driven!" Oswald remarked with playful intentions not wasting the opportunity to make Edward's life difficult. "Who hit us?" he asked looking around for the other car.

"Butch" Edward growled. Then looking in the rear vision mirror an urgent look appeared on Edward's face "Get Down!" he yelled. Oswald suddenly found his head being seized and forced into Edward's lap and he could hear a flurry of bullets hit the car. Oswald was not please and being thrown around so much against his will but his current position found him with his face resting closely against Edward's lap. He had a wicked idea that he knew he could not let slip by without at least attempting to drive Edward wild. Considering he had not had nearly enough fun with him in the exchange he was still in the mood to make things difficult for Edward just to see him become flustered. 

"Why Mr. Nygma how gallant of you. If only there was a way I could repay you" Oswald said unable to hide his grin. Edward glanced down at him but turned his attention back to road attempting to focus on driving. 

"Well while I'm down here I can think of one way to repay you" Oswald added playfully. He rolled over so he was laying on his stomach across the seat and began to undo Edward's belt. Oswald laughed to himself as Edward gasped and lost momentary concentration of the car causing them to swerve. Edward attempted to swat Oswald's hands away from his belt but having to keep both his hands on the wheel he was unable to stop him.

"Is this really the time for that?" Edward asked as he ducked down himself as a spray of Tabitha's rounds hit the back of the car. Moving on from the belt that he had managed to undo, he started work undoing his zipper letting his hands brush against Edward as much as possible determined to distract him as much as possible. He had complete faith that Edward would do everything to keep them safe on the road and this was simply a means of making it not _too_ easy for him.

"Well you appear to be enjoying it" Oswald said admiring Edward's erection underneath his underwear. The car swerved and Oswald had to relinquish his grip on Edward to brace and stop himself from falling off the seat. "Hey! You did that on purpose!" he snapped moving himself back into position. 

"If you wouldn't mind" Edward yelled flustered, "we have a very pressing matter at hand!" Oswald sighed and knew it was at time to take a break from torturing Edward to help out with their predicament. 

"Do you have your phone?" he asked.

"In my breast pocket" Edward said clearly relieved that Oswald had stopped teasing him and was focusing on the matter at hand. Determined to help but not let him off that easily, reached up and pulled the phone out and dialed Ivy's number. He had not seen or heard from her since his arrest but he hoped that she would answer. As it rung he turned his attention back to Edward, placing a soft kiss on him through his underwear which caused Edward to gasp in delight but he remained steady on the road. 

"PENGUIN!?" Ivy's voice came from the other end of the phone clearly relieved that he was calling.

"Ivy!" Oswald answered, relieved she was okay. "Is Victor with you?" he knew they would need some back up if they came to blows with Butch and Tabitha. She began to respond with a long winded explanation about her escape from the slaughter house and what she had been up to since then. Oswald let her talk turning his attention in the mean time to Edward who he had left unattended for seconds, which was far too long. He let out a long warm breath against his crotch, smiling to himself as Edward shuddered and gasped in response. He couldn't wait until they could get back to the mansion and face whatever inevitable punishment Edward had in store for him for these distractions. Ivy eventually finished talking on the other end and Oswald seized his moment before she started up again. "Ivy, just get down to the docks near where you found me. Now! We'll meet you there" he hung up on her before she could say anything else.

"The docks?" Edward asked, a concerned look on his face. Seeing his expression Oswald finally sat up and leaned against his shoulder to comfort him. 

"This time we'll leave together" he whispered laying a kiss on his cheek, "another moment made right for us both". Edward grinned and return the kiss clearly appreciative of Oswald's reassurance. As they continued to drive Oswald did not let up on his efforts to tease Edward at every opportunity but marveled at Edward's ability to stay focused and gain some distance on Butch. After a particularly insistent kiss on Edward's neck that made him shudder once again Edward turned to him. 

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you want us to crash" he said breathing heavily.

"I'd stop if you weren't enjoying it so much" Oswald whispered into his ear watching in delight as he shivered. Oswald recoiled as another round hit the car, a bullet flew between them and embedded itself into the dashboard. 

"That's it!" Edward growled in a low voice. "Take the wheel" he ordered and began to pull Oswald over to the driver's side so he could climb over him. Oswald had no idea what his plan was from here but he did his best to take over driving as quickly as possible so they didn't come off the road. 

"What the hell Ed!" he exclaimed taking the steering wheel and focusing on the road. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Edward did up his belt and began to look out the back window.

"Chances of me hitting Butch?" Edward asked but the question was clearly not address toward him. He watched in awe as Edward thought for a moment before nodding to himself. "It needs to be at least twenty percent and without chance of being hit by Tabitha" he said to himself deep in thought. "I need one direct shot and the timing is going to have to be perfect." Oswald didn't mind Edward talking to himself and admired how intense he became when the situation required, taking in every detail of information possible. Edward looked at him and Oswald focused his attention back on the road not wanting Edward to think he had been staring.  
"Oswald," he said as he begun to wind down his window "when I say so, turn hard right as soon as possible." Oswald had no idea what Edward was planning and turned to him for answers.

"What? Why what are you-" he looked over and saw that Edward was positioning himself by the window with his gun drawn. "Absolutely not!" He yelled grabbing at Edward's jacket not wanting him to place himself in harms way like this.

"Oswald please," Edward said insistently looking into his eyes, "trust me." Oswald stared back for a moment and then nodded, he had to allow Edward to do this. He turned his attention back to the road and began to search for suitable right hand turns. He spotted one that would be acceptable if he could time it right.  
"Tell me when" Oswald said ready for whatever it was Edward had planned. They would do this together, as a team. He ducked for cover as another spray of bullets showered the car. He watched as Edward began to count to himself, gaze fixed on the back seat and focusing intensely. Oswald attempted to regulate his speed aiming to hit the turn perfectly. Then as soon as the gun fire ended Edward issued his command.

"Now!" he yelled thrusting himself out of the open window. Oswald did as instructed and made the turn as sharply as he could manage while still keeping the car under control. Positioned side on to Tabitha and Butch's car he heard Edward take the shot and watched over his shoulder as the other car lost control swerved off the road. Edward pulled himself back into the car and was laughing excitedly to himself he wrapped his arms around Oswald who was now getting them back on course to the docks. 

"Did you see that shot?" he asked clearly pleased with himself "and you were perfect" he began kissing his cheek practically bouncing with excitement. Oswald couldn't help but grin as he observed Edward's state of excitement.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this am I?" he asked.

"Never" Edward said who began nuzzling his cheek with his nose and planting a string of kisses on him. Edward fell back across the seat looking as if he had just run a mile. Once they arrived at the dock they decided to walk to the end and wait for Ivy and Victor to arrive. Once there they embraced and Oswald savored the moment of stillness they were finally having after the excitement of the previous day. He noticed that Edward was holding him particularly tight. Once Ivy and Victor arrived Oswald took Edward's hand and turned back towards the car and noticed Ivy was moving quickly towards them, he was probably about to be on the receiving end of a hug from her.

"Let's go home" he said pulling Edward along behind him.

"NO!" Ivy yelled moving past him shoving Edward hard away causing him to stumble.

"Ivy what the hell-" Oswald began taken aback at her actions.

"Penguin you can't trust him" she stated angrily. "I won't let you hurt him any more" she said stepping between him and Edward. Oswald felt annoyed that he was having to deal with this now after everything he had just gone through.

"This again" he said annoyed and rolling his eyes.

"I heard you the other morning" Ivy revealed "on the stairs. You were talking to yourself about a plan to trick Penguin into falling in love with you!" Unable to believe what he had just heard Oswald turned from Ivy to Edward a mixture of confusion, rage and sadness fighting for control inside of him. He watched as Edward tried to speak, his mouth opening and closing slightly clearly unable to process Ivy's accusations. Oswald felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. So his suspicions had been right from the start, everything he had thought Edward was not capable of turned out to be true. He wanted to be angry, to yell and scream and demand an explanation but instead he felt heart-broken.

"I-is this true?" he asked unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. He could tell how pained Edward was to see him like this.

"Yes" Edward stated quickly

"WHAT?" Oswald roared, unable to believe Edward was actually admitting to it and he began to give in to his anger. 

"I mean no! I mean _yes_ , she heard me say it but I didn't mean it!" Edward stammered clearly panicking and unable to understand what supposed to do. He was the complete opposite to the man who had perfectly executed the plan in the car despite Oswald's best attempts to distract him.

"Why would you say it if you didn't mean it ED" Oswald's responded still wanting answers.

"I- I," Edward attempted but couldn't offer any more than that. He looked as if he was being distracted by something.

"Well Ed, I'm waiting" Oswald said taking a step closer becoming irritated at Edward's inability to explain himself.

"Stop talking!" Edward yelled becoming increasingly frustrated. 

"Don't you _dare_ tell me to stop talking Edward Nygma!" Oswald snapped unable to believe that was the only response Edward could manage.

"I wasn't talking to you" Edward responded. He looked up helplessly into Oswald's eyes with such a defeated look that Oswald couldn't help but soften under his gaze. He found himself becoming less angry and instead he considered what Ivy had said more closely.

"On the stairs..." Oswald muttered looking back at Ivy and then back at towards Edward. He moved in close so only Edward could hear him speak. "That was _after_ we spent the night together" Oswald muttered quietly at him thinking about their dinner together and then their intimate moments afterwards. "Were you so dedicated to your sick game that you would go that far?" He studied Edward's face looking for any sign that it was not true, that Edward was really not capable of being _that_ cruel. Edward still offered no response and just continued to stare helplessly at him. "I knew you were up to something but I didn't think you were capable of _this_ " Oswald said unable to hide just how upset he was at fact that Edward had done this to him and, worse, that he had knowingly fallen for it. 

"You knew?" Edward managed to finally ask.

"Of course I knew" Oswald snapped becoming annoyed again ."You show up on my doorstep with a sudden change of heart? You are not as subtle as you think you are" he was angry again. He had _known_ that Edward had been up to something but he had still let himself be fooled, still given in to the one person he knew he had to be the most careful around. He was furious with himself, he hadn't been able to help himself, once again he had wanted this so much that he let it cloud his better judgement. He looked up into Edward's eyes desperate to find a way to send Edward away so he would not let himself be weakened like this again. Edward finally found something else to say.

"I've made another mistake" he said looking absolutely helpless. As he stared into Edward's hopeless face he suddenly realized something. This was genuine, Edward was devastated and his affection was to no doubt in Oswald's mind, genuine, which lead him to one conclusion. 

"You came to me to try and trick me into falling in love with you" Oswald managed, his anger subsiding and a grin appearing in his face "but you tricked yourself!" He stepped towards Edward, not wanting to let him off this easy he turned his expression into a stern glare and seized Edward's lapels pulling him forwards. "You _idiot_ Edward Nygma!" he snapped but seeing the even further look of confusion on Edward's face he decided to put him out of his misery by pulling him down and kissing him as deeply as he dared. When they broke apart Edward stared at him bewildered. Oswald broke the silence with a laugh, it started small and grew louder and deeper as he ran the events of the past couple of days through his head. If he let Edward Nygma into his life this was how it was going to be, now and forever. He would cause no end of trouble making Oswald furious, amused and loved, sometimes all at the same time. As he considered the decision ahead of him he knew he would not have it any other way. There was no one quite like Edward Nygma in all of Gotham, perhaps the world, and he was going to have him all to himself. With all the bad would come all the good and he thought about everything he loved about the man, the look on his face when he asked a riddle, this flustered confused expression and the soft smiles that Oswald knew were reserved only for him. He wanted it _all_ and he was willing to deal with whatever games and petulance that accompanied it. 

"I don't understand" Edward stammered "are you still mad at me?"

"Furious!" Oswald yelled "Now go get in the car" he ordered pointing towards the parked car. Edward obeyed without question clearly relieved that Oswald had told him what to do and he was not left trying to figure it out for himself. "You too!" he instructed Ivy who was clearly just as confused as Edward over everything that had just happened, she also obeyed. Oswald stared out over the water giving himself a moment to calm down before he would have to join his companions. He smiled thinking about everything that had happened and he listened as Edward and Ivy made their way to the car.

"Wow, what happened to you guys?" Ivy said excitedly clearly indicating the police cruiser. 

"Just a small run in with our old friends Butch and Tabitha" Edward stated.

"Why did you guys get to have all the fun?" Ivy pouted "we just went home and watched TV."

"Well why _you_ were at the mansion watching television _I_ was out doing everything in my power to rescue Oswald. Perhaps if you-"

"If I knew how to drive I could do cool stuff like this too!" Ivy interrupted "You should teach me!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea-" Edward began

"Oh well if you _can't_ do it-" 

"I didn't say that!" 

Oswald didn't hear any more as the two had climbed into the car. He sighed, he suspected this was the kind of thing he was going to have to get used to from now on. He would have to think of a way to give the two of them something constructive to do together lest they drive him crazy around the house when they inevitably became bored within the next couple of days. Perhaps it was time to open a club again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me the longest by far to write but now that it is finally done I am very happy with it! The car chase has always been something I had planned even before I saw the finale so it turned out to be perfect!  
> I still have one more chapter planned so stayed tuned for a lot of Edward and Ivy next time!


	8. My first two letters say my name. My last letter asks a question. What I embrace I destroy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Oswald recovers from the events of last few days Edward and Ivy discover that they may have more in common than either of them would have imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight change to the usual format, Oswald is up first this time!

The drive back to the mansion had been a welcome change to the events Oswald had endured of late. As he climbed into the car he was relieved to realize that however it had happened Edward had won the seat next to the one he now occupied. The adrenaline of the morning's activities was beginning to ware off and combined with the rough night of sleep in the GCPD cell exhaustion was beginning to set in. Ivy and Victor had already seen the kiss between him Edward on the dock so he decided that leaning his head against Edward's shoulder would be acceptable in their presence. He watched as Edward told the story of the Tetch exchange and proceeding car chase to Ivy as she gasped and squealed with delight at every detail. Obviously Edward left _certain_ details of the car ride out of his retelling but his occasional side glances to Oswald told him that they were still in the forefront of Edward's mind. Edward was also taking every opportunity to let his hand brush up against Oswald's thigh without drawing Ivy's attention. Oswald closed his eyes feeling as if he could fall asleep right there listening to his friends talk.

"That is some action movie level shit!" Ivy exclaimed as Edward finished the story. Oswald noted that Edward had taken the liberty of making himself sound as impressive as possible. "You have to teach me how to do stuff like that!"

"It's all about presentation" Edward explained "Don't let anyone forget you". Ivy nodded hanging on his every word. "And I suppose learning how to shoot well is always a desirable talent" he added.

"No" Oswald stated without even opening his eyes.

"You never let me have any fun Pengy!" Ivy whined. He smiled and shifted himself closer into Edward who lifted his arm to wrap around Oswald's shoulders.  
"We'll talk about it later " he yawned sleepily. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep.  
He awoke soon after to Edward kissing him gently on the top of his head.

"Time to wake up sleepyhead" Edward whispered gently. Oswald groaned, dreading the walk up all the stairs that lay between him and his bed. "If you can't walk yourself then I can always carry you up there like last time" Edward said teasingly in his ear. Oswald swatted him away opening his eyes to find his way out of the car. With occasional assistance from Edward he made his way upstairs to the bedroom. He wanted nothing more then to have a bath, having been in the same suit for over twenty-four hours but he knew he would never be able to stay awake long enough. Instead he allowed Edward to undress him and wrap him up under the blankets. Edward was next to him on top of the covers running his fingers through his hair.

"Sorry" Oswald mumbled into the pillow wishing more then anything he could spend time with Edward now that they were back together.

"It's okay" Edward said softly "I'll be right here when you wake up." He gave him one final kiss on the forehead before getting up off the bed and quietly leaving the room. 

He awoke sometime later, rolling over to look at the clock he discovered it was late afternoon. Glad that he would not have missed dinner he made his way to the bathroom to finally bath. He considered finding Edward to ask him to join him but figured with the events he had planned for the two of them later that night they would both be in need of a long soak tomorrow anyway so he could wait until then. Soaking in the bath long enough that his leg was in a manageable condition he dried himself off and moved back into the bedroom selecting a fresh outfit from his vast wardrobe. As he made his way down the stairs he noticed something, it was quiet, too quiet for a house that contained both Edward Nygma and Ivy Pepper. He searched throughout various rooms but found no trace of his two companions instead locating Olga who was in the kitchen preparing that night's dinner. 

"If you are looking for others they are not here" she replied not turning her attention away from her vegetable peeling. 

"What?" Oswald asked taken aback. "May I ask where they are then?" 

"Mr. Nygma leave note" Olga said gesturing back with her head to the kitchen island. Oswald looked over and found a folded piece of paper a question mark drawn on it. 

_'Oswald, hopefully I will be back before you wake up but if not I leave this note. Miss Pepper and I have gone out. I will be back. Took one of the cars, knew you wouldn't mind. Edward'_

Oswald sighed and scrunched the note up in his hand. _Unbelievable,_ It had only been hours and they were already off somewhere. He had figured it would have been a couple of days before Edward would have wanted to seek out some kind of excitement but not _hours_. He sighed to himself, this was what he had chosen, he would have to deal with it. He looked over at Olga, who continued to prepare the food, making his way around to her. 

"I did not get a chance to thank you for returning to your position. I am of course grateful for everything, the house is already beginning to resemble its former self.

"Is no problem" she replied "there are worse boss than you out there." '

"Why thank you" Oswald replied dryly.

"Plus here, no nosy wife looking over my shoulder suspecting me of stealing anything." 

"Thats, oddly specific" Oswald replied mostly to himself.

"How many people will be staying here now? I will need to make up the right number of beds. I give the Ice man Edward's room last night and the Fire one shared with Ivy in prepared guest room." Oswald had to admit his company had grown unexpectedly in the past couple of days, he knew having them close would be best but it would become crowded having them all here and now that he had Edward around he would be wanting plenty of privacy. He had an idea that he knew would suit everyone.

"How would you feel about taking on a second residence?" he asked. She looked over at him raising an eyebrow.

"Is a lot of work" she admitted. He knew he was going to have to make it worth her while and at this current moment he would pay any price to get the house to himself with Edward.

"Well of course," he said "you would spend your time split between here and there-." Before he could finished she let out a snort and returned to her vegetables. "It's not very far away, this other house" he offered hoping it might be enough to make her consider it.

"I will not walk or catch bus" she replied continuing to peel potatoes. "Perhaps if I had new car" she added casually not even looking at him. Oswald let out a laugh at her audacity.

"Oh, well if that's _all_ " he began sarcastically unable to hide his amusement.

"If the work is too much I get to hire second cook" she added clearly sensing his weakness.

"Fine" Oswald responded respecting her forwardness too much to refuse. Shaking his head in amusement he looked over at the fridge and noticed something was missing.

"Where is the drawing that was here?" he asked looking around on the floor in case it had fallen. 

"I put it in frame on your desk" she responded, a slightly happier tone in her voice than previously. 

"Oh, thank you" he responded, deciding a new car was probably well deserved.  
He made his way to his study, once there he found the framed drawing of the Penguin sitting on the desk next to a large stack of files in green folders emblazoned with hand drawn question marks. He was sure he had thrown them away last time he was in here, either Edward or Olga must have retrieved them out of the trash, he suspected he knew which. He sat in his large leather chair leaning back while staring at the drawing once again. He felt right sitting behind the desk like this, he always liked how it felt sitting in such a powerful setting, underlings bringing him status reports. He took out a notebook and pen and placed 'New Club' at the top of the page adding large desk and chair along with other numerous things underneath the heading. He had a lot of plans to begin making, he was determined to make this club the greatest Gotham had ever seen. As he sat writing more notes he looked up at the clock wondering how long it would be before Ivy and Edward returned, he had to admit he was starting to miss Edward again. After a while of planning he heard the front door opening and the unmistakable sound of Edward's laugh accompanied by Ivy's. Well at least they are getting along now, it was better than bickering. Edward poked his head around the door, smiling when he saw Oswald sitting there. He entered them room closing the door behind him. 

"Well look at you" he said admiringly making his way across to the desk. He leaned down across it, resting his elbows on the hard surface with his head resting on the back of his hands. "My king of Gotham hard at work?" he asked grinning. Oswald attempted to act indifferent staring at his paperwork but couldn't ignore how Edward looked in that position, he was clearly doing it on purpose. 

"Have fun while you were out?" he asked continuing to pretend to be working causing Edward's grin to disappear.

"You, were asleep-" he pouted "I thought you wouldn't mind-"

"Well, I'll just have to think of a suitable punishment won't I" Oswald asserted, leaning forward and grabbing Edward's tie to pull him into a kiss. Edward pushed himself furthur across the desk to return the kiss eagerly. Oswald attempted to pull him closer and sensing this Edward climbed up onto the desk, knocking stuff off as he swung his legs over so he was sitting on the edge, legs either side of Oswald. Oswald stood up so he could warp his arms around Edward's neck as he placed his hands on Oswald's hips pulling him in so they were pressed closely together. Oswald could already feel himself becoming hard. This time it was Edward's hands making their way to Oswald's belt fumbling to get it undone. Edward's tongue brushed against his own with the odd bite on his lips sending shivers down his spine. 

"Eww gross you two, get a room" came Ivy's voice from the door "is this what's its going to be like with you guys now?"

"Ivy, what the hell!"Oswald yelled flustered breaking away from Edward but keeping himself covered by the man as he attempted to do his belt back up. Edward turned around from his perch glaring at Ivy. 

"The door was closed" Edward said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, but not locked" Ivy said dismissively looking around the room. Oswald now realized the price of a new car was the least he would pay for _this_ to never happen again. Straightening his shirt up he sat back down back in his office chair attempting to calm himself down from the state Edward had put him in. Edward had remained sitting on the edge of the desk and was clearly facing the same problem.

"Hey! My note, you got it" Ivy said excitedly spotting the frame on the desk "you framed it?" she said raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit much."

"Olga did while I was... indisposed" Oswald stated not wanting to admit that he liked it being framed. 

"May I see?" Edward asked reaching out for it. Ivy handed it to him, he inspected it for while before a look on his face appeared that Oswald knew signaled a riddle was on it's way.

"I am lighter than the material I am made of. You see parts of me but more of me is hidden underneath. What am I?" Edward asked jumping off the desk and turning to them. He was looking fondly at Ivy as he said the second half of the riddle, for what reason Oswald did not know. Ivy considered the riddle but was clearly struggling to think of any response. Oswald looked at the drawing Edward was still clutching and looked up to meet Edward's excited gaze.

"Iceberg" he answered smiling to himself and leaning back in his chair considering the answer. 

"Correct" Edward said smiling.

"I'll never get any of your riddles!" Ivy huffed folding her arms. Edward looked a little too proud with himself about this. Oswald took the frame out of Edward's hand and held it up pointing to it.

"Ivy can you draw me more things like this?" he asked curiously. 

'Yeah sure" she said shrugging "easy."

"Great" he dug around in a drawer and located some blank paper. "Feel these up" he instructed handing them to her with a pencil "you can sit here if you like" he offered getting up from his chair to make room.

"Eww, no. Not after what you two were getting up to before. I'll sit at the table." She exited the room leaving the two men alone. 

Oswald looked up at Edward who shrugged and instantly pushed him against the desk. Before they could get any further the sound of a ringing bell was heard from the dining room, Olga's way of telling them dinner was served. They both groaned and Edward continued to press Oswald against the desk refusing to move.

"Let's just go up stairs" Edward whispered pleadingly into Oswald's ear. 

"As much as I wish we could, my beloved, we mustn't be rude" he placed a kiss lightly on Edward's lips. "As soon as the bedroom door is closed and locked tonight, I'm yours." 

Edward grinned stupidly to himself and let Oswald away from the desk following him like a puppy to the dining room. Fries and Bridget accompanied them for dinner which Olga had spared no effort in preparing. He took his place at the head of the table Edward sitting to his right and Ivy to his left. Edward was taking every opportunity to let his leg brush against his underneath the table. As they ate Oswald sat admiring the small family he had managed to acquire, he had a good feeling about this. They were not yes men or spineless underlings like they had been last time, they were like him, misfits who simply wanted somewhere to belong and he wanted to do everything he could to give it to them. After dinner Oswald instructed Victor to drive the two girls over to Ivy's where he informed them would become a second base of operation for them. 

"You're giving us our own house?" Bridget asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, provided Ivy is okay with that arrangement" Oswald shrugged looking at her. Technically the place was not his to give but no one would try and take it from the likes of Bridget or Fries once they were there. 

"YES!" Ivy yelled excitedly. She moved between Bridget and Fries linking her arms with them. "Look out Penguin, they might start working for me and then I'll be the Queen of Gotham" she said smoothly. There was a hint of genuine malice in her voice that he had not heard before.

"Well it's settled then. I will call you tomorrow" he began to impatiently usher them towards the door. As they began to file outside Ivy suddenly stopped, turned and ran back inside to Edward who was waiting in the hall watching them go. She threw her arms around him in a tight embrace 

"Thanks for today Riddler" Oswald heard her whisper to him. Edward returned the hug smiling at Oswald over her shoulder. She turned and followed the others out to the car without delay. 

"What was that all about?" Oswald asked suspiciously as he closed the door. He wondered if the use of the name Riddler instead of Edward was significant.

"Nothing for you to worry about Penguin. It's between between Ivy and I."

"So I presume you two made up after this morning?" 

"We share a common interest worth putting aside our differences for" Edward stated grinning. Oswald pulled him in for a kiss. 

"Go wait up stairs" Oswald instructed him. Edward did not need to be told twice, turning and making his off to the bedroom. Oswald dismissed Olga for the night and presented her with the address for Ivy's instructing her to head there in the morning. He assured her that he and Edward would be fine to prepare their own meals the next day. He was glad he would not be there when Olga discovered the state of Ivy's place and the vast collection of plants that lined every surface.  
Finally, the house was empty. He made his way up stairs into the bedroom making sure to lock the door behind him, just in case. 

 

****

Edward closed the door after tucking Oswald into bed and made his way downstairs, he was greeted by Olga.

"Lunch is served Mr. Nygma" she said before turning without another word to him and heading back to the kitchen. He would have to think of something to do that would make it up to her. Inside the dining room Ivy was already making her way through the plate of sandwiches Olga had left on the table.

"The sandwiches aren't going anywhere" Edward said as dignified as possible taking several for himself. She shot him a dirty look.

"I have to go out, my plants need watering" she stated stuffing a cucumber sandwich whole into her mouth. 

"Plants?" he asked. She nodded, mouth too full to speak. "What kind of plants? 

"All sorts," she replied swallowing a large mouthful. "I have over 30 kinds at my house!" 

"Quite a collection" he said, interest peaked. Plants had not been something he would have guessed as a hobby for her but he supposed the clue was in the name. After stuffing several more sandwiches in her mouth she jumped out of the chair.

"Well I had better get going, it's a bit of a walk." 

"I'll drive you!" Edward said getting up excited at the prospect of the plant collection. 

"Don't you have to stay with Penguin?" she asked.

"You did _promise_ you would be here when he woke up" Nygma stated, now sitting at a place at the table. Edward frowned, he had promised but Oswald may still be asleep for hours.

"He's sleeping. I can be back before he wakes up if we go now" he assured both of them but mainly trying to convince himself. 

"Okay" she responded looking divided about the prospect of his company. He figured they had better start to get along if they were going to be spending time together. If he was able to stand extended periods of time with Butch he knew he would be able to handle her. Plus the notion of this collection of plants was way too of an intriguing opportunity to pass up. He left a note for Oswald with Olga but he hoped they would be back before Oswald would need to read it. It had taken every ounce of self control to not phrase the note in the form of a riddle. Taking one of Oswald's numerous cars they set out. As he drove Ivy told him the story of what had happened after he left with Barbara. They laughed together at the photo of Oswald laying face down on the floor asleep and suddenly Edward realized how foolish he had been last night believing that Oswald's body being carried out of the house was because of some horrible incident when this was the reality of the situation. It was the tale of Ivy's perfume making Strange divulge his secrets that intrigued him the most. 

"You make that stuff yourself?" he asked bewildered wondering exactly who this girl was. 

"Yeah, it's easy! I'll show you it sometime if you like" she offered clearly trying to reach out an invitation of possible friendship to him. 

"I would like that very much." he replied not just refering to the demonstration of ability but the prospect of her future comapny. Ivy directed him into the driveway of a house almost as large as Oswald's and Edward found himself once again intrigued by this girls origins. 

"You live with your parents?" he questioned figuring a house this grand must belong to her family.

"No, I live alone" she replied. "Well, Penguin lived with me for a few weeks after I dragged him out of the river but I guess he is living back at his place now" she sounded sad at this realization. Edward felt a stab of anger at himself imagining Oswald dying in the water, blood everywhere and being dragged out by this young woman. This is how the two had met, she had been Oswald's savior in his time of need. He found himself gritting his teeth and clenching the steering wheel trying not to get angry at himself again. 

"You coming?" she called, already out of the car and making her way to the front door. He calmed himself down and hurried to join her. Once inside the house Edward was astonished at the amount of different plant species that lined all available surfaces. Nygma let out a gasp of excitement looking around the room at the various different species of plants naming them as he went. Edward wondered around looking at the different kinds and watched as she tended to each individually even taking her time to talk to some of them.

"Looks like we are not the only one who finds conversation in unconventional places" Nygma said inspecting the barbs of a cactus. Edward smiled to himself watching her take such care in her work. He moved over to a work bench that was covered in makeshift chemistry equipment. Inside bottles and beakers were different colored liquids that even Edward had to admit he did not recognize. He picked one up to examine it.

"Don't smell that" Ivy ordered from the other side of the room. "In fact I wouldn't touch anything there if I were you. I'm not sure if I've gotten it right yet." Respecting her wishes he returned the bottle to the bench, he remembered how annoyed he had gotten at Harvey touching his stuff on his desk in his forensics office. 

"So you like plants?" he asked curious to learn everything he could about her. This was not something that he would have expected from the girl who had fought him for Oswald's attention the previous day but with the revelation she had dragged Oswald out of the river he was not sure what he expected anymore.

"As much as you like riddles" she responded not looking up from the plant she was tending to. He nodded feeling a slightly more affection towards her then he had previously. "Plants are very sensitive" she said from her own little world. "Call one and it'll respond to you and if you listen hard, you can even hear them sing." Edward considered the statement and decided he liked it. 

"Very poetic," he said continuing to inspect the various species around the room. "I believe you have lied to me Miss Pepper" he said with a grin "you told me you had over thirty species here but I don't see that many."

"I don't let the poisonous ones live in the house" she responded matter of fact "they live in the greenhouse. Would you like to see them too?" Hearing this offer caused Nygma to give a small jump of excitement clapping his hands together. 

"Ooo can we?" he asked Edward. 

"I would like that very much" Edward nodded. She finished tending to house plants before leading him through the house to a green house that sat at the back of the property. Entering the greenhouse Edward's mouth fell open as he marveled at the display of poisonous plants that lined the planter boxes. Nygma eagerly moved up and down the isles looking over each plant.

"Belladonna, henbane, digitalis" he listed off excitedly. Ivy watched as Edward made his way around examining the different specimens.

"Did you know that in medieval Europe witches used a lotion made out of plants similar to these," Edward stated excited to share a fact that he hoped she would like. "Which historians believed was what caused their delusions of flying!" he concluded excitedly as he inspected a rather large species of digitalis. Ivy laughed as she looked up at him shaking her head. 

"How do you know stuff like that?" she asked. He shrugged in response.

"I read a lot as a kid" he said but not wanting to let himself think about his childhood he quickly changed the subject. "You have quite the green thumb" he said watching her tend to a thriving hellebore. 

"It's all I've ever been good at" she said a hint of sadness coming through. He sensed that childhood memories may have been lingering below the surface for her too.

"You should be proud" he said earnestly. 

"It's not as impressive as the stuff you guys can do."

"What has that got to do with it?" he asked frowning.

"Well, it's just..." she began but stopped "never mind, its not important."

"Seems like it's important to you" he stated moving over to lean against an empty planter box next to her.

"Well no one cares what's important to me, I'm just a kid after all." The last part was said in a mocking way as if she was impersonating someone. Edward was not well versed in the area of young women's feelings and he wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to proceed. Once again he found himself wishing he had Oswald's expertise for reading people. He found himself looking to Nygma for any sort of answer to how he should proceed. Nygma now appeared to be wearing his grey lab outfit from their days back at the GCPD and Edward though of something that was worth a try.

"When I worked at the GCPD, people used to treat me different, they'd call me names and laugh at me behind my back sometimes even to my face. I would ignore them, pretend it didn't matter but I still felt rotten, all I wanted was to be treated with respect." 

"Why did they laugh at you? Was it the green suit?" she smirked looking him up and down. Sensing it was meant as a joke he allowed himself to laugh.

"This was before the green suit, before the Riddler, back when I was just plain old Edward Nygma". He looked over at Nygma smiling to himself. 

"What did you do about it?" Ivy asked intrigued "How did you make them take you seriously?" He considered the question thinking back to the look on his co-workers faces when he had returned to the GCPD as to work on the Red Hood case for Oswald as his chief of staff. Their faces were full of fear and anger, not respect. 

"I made them fear me" he said suddenly overcome with conflicting feelings. 

"Oh" Ivy responded clearly not expecting that answer. 

"Oswald did the same" Edward offered "but it is not the only way, just the one that we both happened to choose. " He looked up at her, "You should find our own way, I don't think the path of fear is for you." 

"But I want to be like you and Penguin!" She exclaimed. "I want people to take me seriously and treat me as an equal!" she had become fierce. Edward remembered how desperate he had been for guidance down his new path and recognized the similar signs from this young lady. The life that he and Oswald lived , a one filled with violence, danger and isolation was probably not the one that he would choose for her. He remembered how Oswald had tried to put him off at first when he first expressed a desire to join him down that path and he recalled how unhelpful it was to him at the time. 

"These things don't happen overnight" he said feeling a rush of emotion as he remembered the path that had lead him here. "There are costs involved. I used to have a regular job at the GCPD, an apartment, a... girlfriend." 

"What happened?" she asked, a slight amount of sympathy coming through. 

"The Riddler happened" he said sternly. "Since then I've been to Arkham, attempted to murder my best friend, kidnapped the mayor-"

"But do you regret it?" she interrupted.

"Parts of it" he admitted "but not all of it. The Riddler is who I am and always will be, there is no going back now. That is the price I payed for this new life and you have to decide if that is something you are capable and willing to do if it comes to it." He hoped that this explanation of his journey was helpful to her. He had only recently been looking for someone to guide him and now he found himself as the one giving guidance. He didn't know if he was ready for this but from what he could tell no one else was willing to give the answers Ivy desperately sought and he knew how that felt. They sat in silence for a while before she eventually spoke.

"I'm sorry about earlier" she looked up at him "about outing you in front of Penguin. I was so worried-"

"You don't need to apologize" he said firmly "I'm glad you did it."

"Why?" I nearly ruined everything for you two.

"Because it tells me how much you care about Oswald. You wanted to protect him so you put yourself out there to do so. Just like you did when you saved his life, which I can't thank you enough for. If it wasn't for you he would be-" he couldn't finish the sentence. She placed her hand on his squeezing it tightly. 

"You really like him? Like, _more_ than friends right?" she asked looking up at him.

"More than anything" he replied smiling. 

"I'll make you a deal" she said standing to face him directly. "You ever do anything to hurt Penguin again," she held up a potted Rue "and I'll cover every inch of you in sap from this!"

"Which would result in boils, severe gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and even in some cases, death" Nygma added helpfully inspecting some more of the plant in a another pot.

"Deal" Edward said grinning. 

"I need a cool name like you and Penguin" she said sounding like her usual excited self as she placed the Rue back. "Something that tells people how dangerous I can be!" she lifted a Belladonna up to her face grinning menacingly at it. "Any ideas?" she asked looking over it towards him. He looked over her with a appraising eye. There was defiantly something there, something below the surface of this girl that would grow more fierce over time, especially if she continued to keep her current company. It wasn't there yet however, and Edward did not want to be the one to force it out of her before she was ready.

"Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. Whoever knows it, wants it not. What am I?" he asked.

"That's not fair!" Ivy whined putting the plant back. "I'm not good at that sort of thing" she added muttering to herself. Edward took a spare piece of paper and a pen out of his pocket and scrawled the riddle down for her and pushed it into her hand, placing his own over the top of it. 

"When you know the answer, you'll be ready" he said seriously, looking into her eyes. "Until then, I'm not going to give you the answer. And don't ask Oswald for help," he added "just be patient it will be worth it. Plus he'll kill both of us if he finds out we had this conversation." She looked down at the riddle frowning but eventually she nodded and placed the paper in her pocket. 

"Thank you" she said looking him in the eyes "for not treating me like a child." He nodded, smiling at her and watching as she began to see to the rest of the plants. 

"So how does Penguin fit into the Riddler's plan?" Ivy asked "Are you moving into the mansion with him?"

"I'm not sure..." he said realizing that he actually didn't know the answer to that question. He had not stopped to think that far ahead yet. "I'm not actually certain what he expects from me." Edward suddenly felt, afraid? He really wasn't sure what it was he was supposed to do now or what it was that Oswald would want from his companionship. When they had been friends and colleagues there was no pressure, it had just been, _them_. He was uncertain if that was how it would be now or even if they were still capable of that. Ivy patted him on the arm clearly sensing his uncertainty

"You'll figure it out" she said looking hopefully at him "just like I'll figure this out" she added holding out her riddle. "Hey, I've got an idea! Give me some of that paper." She took a scrap of paper from him and stared at it intently for several minutes writing things and scratching them out before finally presenting it to him.

"Known for my natural tuxedo and waddling. What am I?" Edward read off of the paper. It was bad, as far as riddles went but he couldn't help but smile at it. 

"We both have something we need to figure out about ourselves" she said looking at him. "We should do it together." 

"Thank you Miss Pepper" he said folding it up and placing it in his jacket pocket. He was beginning to wonder why people treated this young lady like a child, there was clearly much more to her than the others were seeing. "Do you still want to learn how to shoot?" he asked.

"Really!?" she asked excitedly gripping his arm tightly.

"Just don't tell Oswald" he said grinning.

They spent the rest of the afternoon outside in the sun, Edward conducting a by the book firearms lesson that would be given to any GCPD cadet. He knew that it was unlikely that she would ever need to use one but given the unpredictable lifestyle he and Oswald lived he knew that if it ever came to it, it would be best that she knew what she was doing regardless of Oswald's feeling on the subject. The two were having so much fun together that they lost track of the time and Edward realized that Oswald could be awake by now and wondering where they were. He had promised that he would be back when Oswald awoke, something else he would now have to make up for. Agreeing not to tell Oswald about their new lessons Ivy and Edward made their way back to the car.

"So where exactly did you learn everything you know about plants?" he asked curiously as they set off. 

"Self taught" she replied simply. Edward gaped at her, he had at least expected some kind of passion for high school biology to be the answer.

"What?" she asked looking back at him amused by his reaction.

"Have you ever considered studying horticulture or perhaps plant science?" he asked. "I'm sure Gotham University has a faculty in that area. You have the natural talent, I'm sure you could-"

"They'd never let me in" she interrupted. "I didn't exactly... finish school" she looked a little ashamed. 

"Don't worry about that" Edward exclaimed, a wicked grin appearing on his face. "If you ever want to, let me know, I'm sure I can find a way to _persuade_ them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have decided that this will be the last chapter of this particular piece for the time being. I will mostly likely start again on a new story however when Season 4 begins.


End file.
